The leader., 1898-01-12

and out OF the mine the crib work was
restored and the pumps put In shape.
Besides the great expense entailed
BY the ceaseless combat with the Gle
ments. the company had TO build houses
on the mainland for It's men, construct
docks and wharves, harbor breal<wat-
ers and lay in large stores Of supplies.
Heretofore all the ore utilized was
packing ore"-that Is, the very rich
est ore TO be found In the vein. In 1874
and 1878 the company erected a stamp
mill and began the reduction of the
poorer ores. Though the stamp mill
was not so successful rs II was expected
to be, the mill produced s225,1so dur
ing the last half Of 1878. The vanners
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 1875 fell to 145,902 ounces, and the
total product of the first six years of
it's operation was 1861, 1922 ounces of
fine silver. The continued decline In
the amount of the product and the
enormous expenses Of operation re-
suited in a deficit in 1876, and a conse-
quent examination of the mine by a
special committee. At that time, the
ninth level, which was reached by
Wine 146 feet south of the shaft and
directly under the lake, was ga feet
below the level of the water. The COM
mittee found that all the silver bearing
indications kept up as far as the vein
had been followed, but that the silver
was not as prevalent in the vein as il
had been. But as the mine had been
decidedly "pockety" from the start, il
was felt that the poor quality of the ore
at that time was no reason for dis
couragement. A rich pocket Of fabu-
lous extent might be struck at any
time. Between the sixth and seventh
levels corner near the shaft had
yielded IS tons of ore valued at $113,-
900. This report resulted in the reor-
ganization of the company under the
name of the Silver Islet Consolidated
Mining G. Lands company. This was
effected in April, 1877.
The new company soon had its faith
rewarded. 1t had just been decided
to undertake the work of removing the
roof of the mine, where it was known
there was about 100000 worth of ore,
when the work of exploring the differ.
ent levels and pushing them in the di-
rection indicated by drill holes result
ed in the discovery of immensely rich
deposits. In this year, with produc-
ton of TEL ,623 ounces of silver, was the
high-tide of the mines prosperity. But
1879 witnessed a big slump and in 1880
the production fell to 36,374 ounces.
The two following years were even
worse and the hunt for new pockets
was unsuccessful, though the silver
bearing vein was still as well defined
as ever.
In 1888, when the lowest level was
| 1850 feet below the surface of the
lake, the directors undertook to Sc
cure some assistance from English cap
| italists, but were unsuccessful. Mr.
Tretheway, the superintendent of the
mine, was still exploring and searching
for the bodies of wonderfully rich ore
| always in prospect.
Then it was that the coal boats cap
tain went on spree and became ice
bound. Vainly the islet people watched
| for his coming. March 1 drew near,
the engines were reduced to the small
est possible ration of coal, and the
water gradually rose in the shaft. The
water crept higher and higher against
the feeble pumps, and still no coal
steamer came. Then the pistons of
the last engine made their last stroke.
the waters filled the first level and
rose to the top of the shaft. A feeling
of despair settled upon the little COM
munity whose world had been conferred
in the mine. The mine was aban-
| doned.
| With the opening of navigation all
of the inhabitants of the town that had
been built upon the main shore moved
away, leaving the streets and the build
ings, the mills and the clearinghouse
as silent as was the little cemetery.
To-day James w. Cross, caretaker Of
the property, which long since was
forcclosed, lives there alone. Like the
caretakers of all abandoned properties,
he believes that some day operations
will be resumed. There was futter
of hope last summer when Henry S.
Sibley, one of the trustees, visited the
mine and examined it's condition, with
an eye to inducing an English COM
pany to start the pumps going and to
undertake the nerve-straining and ex-
pensive search for pockets" But so
far there is no assurance that the little
island will ever recover from the effect
of the lake captains fateful one drink
too many.-Chicago Record.