Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-04-22
OLD MINES IN CORNWALL
Some of Them Have Been Worked for Many
Centuries.
Less Than a Dozen Are Now i'm Opera
tiOn-Vast Wealth in Tin
and Copper.
From the London Sketch.

Time was, and that not so many years
ago, when there were upward of a hum
dred and fifty mines in Cornwall from
which rich harvest of copper and tin was
reaped. OF all the industries in Great Bril-
tain Cornish mining is probably the oldest
There are some who claim that in the time
of Ezekiel Cornwall was famed for its tin
1t is certain that, long before Julius Caesar
visited these shores, the Phoenicians had
discovered the rich minerals in the western
peninsula, and they were not in a hurry
to tell any other people of their discovery.
In all the succeeding centuries Cornwall
has been famous for it's tin, its copper and
its fish. These three commodities form the
county toast-the three Cornish minerals.
they are still styled. More fortunes have
probably been made and lost in the mines
OF Cornwall than in any other British in
dustry One after another famous mine
that in years gone by had yielded rich
profits has had to be shut down, after
running many of the -"adven-
turers,' they are called, since until quite
recently the limited liability principle was
scoSed at, and the unlimited liability (and
unlimited profits ofttimes) of the cost-book
system perseVered in. Many CorniShmen
can remember when there were a hundred
and fifty mines working now there are less
than dozen. You may often chance across
an Old adventurer who will tell you. in the
pleasant, soft dialect of his birthplace, OF
the romance OF carrier udyS, beloIe TIC
easily gathered tin of the straits settle
ments flooded the market. To take one IN
stance. There was once a little group OF
mines known the United mines. When
Grst started, the adventurers divided among
them 1000; then they exhausted the rich
copper ore, and a time of depression tol-
lowed, with the result that 10000 was lost
before hope was abandoned and the mine
shut down. Work was stopped, but only
for time. After other not very success.
full attempts to initiate the prosperity of
the early adventures a capital of f16,oro
was obtained in $40 shares of $50 each. and
work was once again started. The adven-
turerS We're fortunate; good, profitable ore
was found, and the profits were fabulous
The market value Of the company rose very
quickly from less than $4,000 to f10,OO,
and at one time the fortunate shareholders
We're dividing as much $4,000 a month
between them. OF course, the lode was
eventually exhausted, and today the mines
are flooded with water.
Cornshmen-good MethOdists that they
are-loye a mining gamble, and they have
recently had one reminiscent of old days.
In January, 1897, tin was selling at between
f.J6 and $50 a ton, and throughout that year
it remained depressed and never reached
1853: but last year the production from the
Straits Settlements fen off, and the con-
sumption of tin increased. Gradually the
price crept UP. month after month. from
under t63 to fS3 1Js., which was the price
in December last. Then the upward move
ment, thanks largely to the great specula-
tfbfiS Oh Il ftHch ana f4HRIlSH H{laAclSTS anu
the falling off in the production of tin in
the Straits Settlements, continued in leaps
and bounds, until the tin that was selling
two years ago at f56 is now fetching nearly
twice that sum. At the same time, owing
to improved machinery, the cost of pre-
pairing the tin for the market has de-
creased by nearly one-fifth. Cornishmen
OF sanguine hopes who held on to their
shares through the dark days of depres-
sion have experienced all the old JOY Of the
successful adyenturer Of prosperous DAYS
and 1t would be rash to conclude that even
tll0 is the top price. This sudden rise it
Is hoped, may prove more or less perma-
nent-until the next period of depression
casts its shadow over the county, Mean
Whlle, the return on every ton of tin is so
gGod that gradually the mines are again
taxing their places the dividend-paving
list, mines recently closed down are being
reopehed and old workings are being ex-
ailiihed with view to renewed operations.
one OF the difficulties that Cornishmen
hdu 10 contend with, long as the price
OF tin was low, was 1.-The cost of bringing
the metal to the surface. The mines have
Ill WORKED Tor so many years that the
miner now has to burrow further and fur
Their into the bowels of the earth for tho
ore; The Great Dolcoath mine the Oldest
aLu most prosperous in the county that
mas pald millions to shareholders in the
past, mas now reached a depth of . o5n feat
equal to over half a mile while in sonoa
mines good seams of tin or conner have
iea the miners to dig right under the sea
cant mime, near the Lands End
WHERE there are forty miles of nine work
mss, most OF the dark galleries rim ont
uhuer the Atlantic, one of them to the ex
tent of nearly mile. Fancy the sans
eloh' day after day and night after night
iof the economical use of machinery 70
cures a two-shift system of work-of prov
etns IN these submarine cuttings with tho
Aldhtic rolling above ones head at anv
tlfne liable to burst through the natural
celihs. Yet several hundred men are Tins
engaged, and think nothing of the risk
NOT a mile away is Bota!lack mine down
winch the Princess of Wales was opcn
% oah e II Is 1000 feet deep, and portions
Oh II run Tor third of a mile under the
sea ped 1t is one of the scores of deserted
mines in the county. ~
1here are few sights in Cornwall mora
Welfdly picturesque than that of the miners
coming up from their work on the man
engine ladder. This consists of a long
stout wooden beam reaching down down
uoWl, with a succession of steps at regular
intervals. At the side of the shaft are
iahains places, also at regular intervals
me beam moves up and down IN and
down, few feet. AS the steps come level
with the platforms. the men move off on
10 them, and are raised a few feet until
they reach the little platforms above those
on winch they Were before: there thew wait
while the beam slowly descends and in a
lew SECONDS, other steps invite them to go
a Mite higher and so, stepping on and off
the moving beam, they are raised gradual
~ 10 the surface. 1t is a scene never to
be forgotten, to stand at the top of the
and peer down, watching the beam rhythmi-
cally rising and falling, the chasm lit by
the candles the miners have rudely stuck
with clay, to their hats