Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-19

them and SO high that their tops kiss the
sky at the level of the taller Broadway
roofs.
During my stay I looked into the fur
naces. The air blows through like a rush.
Ing wind, turning the vast pits to
blazing hell of birthstone and molten gold,
out of which roll the fumes of yellow sui
phur. The sulphur was so strong that I
wore rubber mask containing sponge
over my nose and mouth to withstand it.
My cheeks burned and l could hear the fire
roaring with fury greater than that of
the furnace though which Shadrach Mes
bach and Abednego walked in the days of
the Scriptures.
The CRANKY has eight such furnaces, and
the molten stream of copper. gold and
silver flows through them day and night,
year In and year out. The Stag comes
forth in golden stream as big around
as your waist 1t falls into IRON pots. each
large enough to boil an OK without cutting
off its legs or horns. Each pot is on wheels,
and a little dummy engine takes it when
full and dumps 1t In a Glazing stream down
the hill. The metals come forth in a
smaller stream flowing into tanks, each
Of which will hold five tons. AS these
tanks fill they are caught by a travelling
crane and poured into conyerters. Air is
introduced, the sulphur and iron are burnt
out and within a few moments the metal
has become an almost pure mixture of
silver, copper ana gOiG- 1T Is now run OH
into molds or bricks, and 1t needs only
to be refined and the gold and silver re-
moved before it is ready for telegraph
wires. electric conductors and the other
things for which pure copper is used.
Where Our Copper Comes From.
The most of the copper now produced
in Canada comes from the Phoenix
mines. There are also mines above Lake
Superior and elsewhere. and 1T is be-
lieved that other deposits will be found
in British Columbia. The greater part
OF the copper of the world is mined in
the United States. The total production
in 1904 was 100000 tons, of which 3T2,-
GOO were produced in our country Our
Chief copper states are Michigan, Mon
tana, Arizona and Utah, although con-
siderable is mined in California and
less amount in the eastern and southern
states. Canada stands comparatively low
among the worlds copper producers Her
output is between 40,000,o00 and 5o,00o,-
600 pounds annually, while Chile turns
out 100000 pounds, Germany about the
same, and Australasia $4,000, 600. Spain
and Portugal produce ia 000, 900 pounds
and Mexico 107 100000 pounds per annum.
Our product in 1904 was considerably
over 75O.O0O,000 pounds
The Kootenay Mines
For the past week I have been trav-
cling through the kootenay country. This
is in British Columbia far below the
main line of the Canadian Pacific rail-
way. 1t is reached by what is known
as the Crows Nest Pass branch of that
read. and parts of it are now being sur
veyed by the engineers of the Great
Northern, which evidently intends to
night for Canada and all that is in IL.
The Great Northern has branch run
ming from Spokane to Grand Forks, and
it is already doing a large part of the
hauling of the Phoenix mines.
This kootenay country comprises some
of the richest mineral deposits of the
Rockies. 1t has gold silver, copper, coal,
iron and lead In coming here / passed
the coal mines Of the Crows Nest valley,
which are said to have something like
p 900 100000 tons of coal In sight, and
near them, by the side of the track, /
saw thousand coke ovens blazing away
Not far from these coal deposits are
mines of hematite iron, upon which the
Canadians expect to build up a manu-
featuring industry backed by a high
tariff against our goods.
Coming further on into British CO.
lumbia, stopped at the town of Nelson,
which has 1000 population, and also at
Fcrnie, SLOGAN City and other places
There are about a dozen mining camps
in this region and large number of
good properties. There are a number of
fine gold properties near Rossland, a town
of 5000. One is the LIE Roy which produced
a million and a half dollars worth of ore In
1904, and another the Center Star, which did
about two-thirds as well.
At Nelson / met Bruce White an Amer
lean miner, who opened up one of the big
gest silver and lead deposits at SLOGAN He
told me how he happened to make the dis
covery. Said he:
There had been rush to that region,
and came In with five other prospectors.
When we got to the camp I looked at a
mountain across the way and suggested
that our party go there to see what we
could find We. did SO, cutting our way
across the valley and through the woods
We had only two days provisions and
could not hope to stay long. Almost as
soon as we started up the HILL however, we
struck some float rock which showed signs
OF silver and lead. and on the following day
we discovered q great mass of gaIena,
which was from twenty-five to thirty feet
wide. There were boulders of lead ore close
to It, and we at once staked out our mine.
It proved to be very rich one, and was
eventually sold for more than a million dol
lars Since that time 1t has yielded about
y. 10000 worth OF ore and 100000 in div
idends."
The Beauties Of the Kootenay.
am surprised at the scenery Of this re-
gion. have crossed the Rockies on every
one Of the great trunk lines. but none of
the others passes through region like tbs
The Kootenay Is filled with long winding
lakes walled In by peaks which riss almost
raight upward for hundreds and thou
sands Of feet. The water Is SO clear that
on can stand 1000 feet above IL on the
slopes and see the flsh swimming In the
streams TAR below. The sideSl Of the hills