The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-02-27

uS d AOSS1uS COHIIaCL. Inns
road reached from Hibbing to the
Mississippi river and connected with
the lake over the Duluth & Winni-
peg,which had an ore dock at Su-
perior. The Wright & Davis lands,
bought for their timber, were
stretched across township 81, range
H. along the ore-bearing formation,
and included both the Mahoning
ana Stevenson mines. At the time
OF the sale to Hill the Mahoning was
in operation and the Stevenson had
been discovered, though but COM
paratively little other ore was abso-
lutely known to exist on the lands.
The price paid for these mines and
the railroad, as we'll as the enor-
nous and very profitable logging
contract held by the road, was a
trifleI under 100000. It now seems
a mere bagatelle; but at that time
money was very tight and the pres
ent conditions were unexpected.
Mr.. Hill did not acquire addition
al lands for some time. He bought
the Duluth & Winnipeg road, pay.
ing par for the 81 100000 of stock is-
sued, which stock represented actu
al cash that had gone into the con-
struction of the roa d, and taking up
the less than 81 100000 of the under
lying bonds that had been issued
by the road to pay for lands sup
posed to contain ore, but which were
north of the ore bearing formation.
Some ore lands were gradually sc
cured until the formation of the
United: States Steel Corporation,
with its control of the two remain-
ing roads reaching the Mesaba
range. Mr.. Hill at once saw that to
make his road profitable he must
have. ore OF his own sufficient to
maintain his road at high pitch of
traffic, as the corporations road
would haul its ore and as much
more5as it could get, and he expect
ed, the corporation to continue the
requirement of undeveloped ore
lands. This, however, it did not do
Immediately. The field was for a
time left to him and he improved
the sitaation. With abundant funds
ohtainable at the lowest rates, the
Eastern Minnesota road, which was
the2title of the Hill line, began buy
ing&leases and fee tracts by the
wi f9o1esale, but very quietly. The
stocks of many companies owning
lands upon the ore.bearing forma-
ton were secured at low prices.
State leases were bought at ad-
:vances over the royalties demanded
and many tracts were taken out
right. In the meantime very con-
siderable exploring business was
carried on and tracts were examin-
ed with the drill all along the range
as far east as the Mountain Iron
mine, in the center of township So,
range 18. All the lands belonging
tothe Midway company and located
on the ranges in towns 50 and SO,
range 18, were bought outright, al
though they were not known to con-
tain ore of value.
The Hill companies now control a
strip OF land six miles long on the
strike and more or less continuous
across the width of the ore e-bearing
formation in township 81, range 81.
In this are the Mahoning, Steven
son, Leetonia, Burrows and several
other ore bodies of importance and
a large area of unexplored land of
possible high value. By the ad-
vance of cash for the purchase of
other lands it also controls the traf-
fic on several additional ore bodies
in the same township.
It has been favorite method of
Mr.. Hill to assist intending buyers
of ore mines to a part of the cash
required, in return for a contract
for + the traffic at going rate; and
this has tied up to him a large
amount of ore outside of his own
ownership. Another method that
has had the same result has been
to- permit the exploration of lands
Of his own under the royalty basis,
in return for the traffic that the in.
tending explorers might hold in
their own ownership. This has also
brought him large contracts for
freight.
Hill holdings west of township 81,
range q, include large fee tracts,
state and private leases of more or
less value. The value of the range
as one passes westerly is problem
attic, and much of the formation
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