The Taney County republican. (Forsyth, Mo.) 1895-1992, 1906-07-19
RSYTH, MISSOURI, THURSDAY, JULY 10, 1906
STORY OF BIG SILVER STRIKE
Man Who Sunk Shaft Tells Ills Story Of the
Strike on the Brink Property.

Springfield Leader.
| A. J. Nicholson of west Chase street,
the engineer who is sinking the shaft
for Simeon Brink in Taney county,
where the ore was recently found which
Is said to have assayed SO valuaby at
the Rolla school of mines, is in Spring.
field,and tells of the details OF the find.
Mr. Nicholson is we'll known here, and
has long been recognized as a mineral
expert. He says there is absolutely no
doubt Of the value of the ore already
found, but that no one can yet say II the
stuff is there in paying quantities or no.
The assay made last week in Rolla is
the sixth test made by various experts
within two years OF ore taken out Of the
Brink shaft In "aney county, Two years
ago Brink and Nicholson took out some
mineral which looked like silver mixed
with lead. They induced Mr.. Ramsey
who has since died to make an assay.
He found that the ore contained 252
ounces Of silver to the ton With slight
traces of gold. Mr., Ramsey lived in
the south part of Springfield and was a
well known assayer and metallurgis,.
This assay was not satisfactory to Mr..
Brink and his associates and nothing
was said, but they kept on digging and
blasting, and year ago had another.
sample assayed in the United States
assay Office in New York. This was
better than the first and showed 6i0
ounces to the ton, with more pronounced
evidences Of gold.
Next William Bailey, the local assay
or, who lives on High street and who
has been before referred to, made un
assay few months ago. and declared
that the ore contained 22l0 ounces OF
silver to the ton with u fraction Of an
ounce of gold.
Shortly after this Bailey took speci-
mems from greater depth and his as.
say showed 3Gi0 ounces OF silver to the
ton, Ore taken out at the same depth
was simultaneously sent to Durand, Col,
where Mr.. Hallowell, IAN expert assayer,
found 1860 ounces to the ton with traces
of gold. The similarity of the two rs
says OF practically the same ore con-
vinccd Brink and Nicholson that there
was "somcthin' doin'," and then it was
that they sent their metal to the state
school of mines at Rolla, where Prof.
Thompson found $50 ounces of silver
aud one of gold to the ton as already
told.
Another feature that makes Nichol-
son believe the find genuine is the pres
ence of quartz. Prof. Shepard OF Drury
college, state geologist is said to have
declared at one tine that there was no
silver in the Ozark region because there
IL no quartz here. The ore in the rink
shaft is vein varying from Is TO l6
inches in width, between quartz ledges
Ii feet deep and 40 feet wide. Speci.
mems of this quartz brought to Spring.
field have the exact appearance of the
quartz found along with the silver ore
in Colorado.
The silver ore found in Tauey county
is chloride OF silver, not a sulphde.
Besides the lead and small item Of gold
said TO be mixed with the silver chlor-
ide the ore is said TO carry decided
trace of copper.
The first assay two years ago was on
ore taken at depth of II feet. The
United States assay Office and Bailey
tests we're made on ore taken out 20 feet
down, and the recent Rolla test on ore
dug Ii feet from the surface.
Mr.. Brink and Mr.. Nicholson declare
their shaft is mile and half from the
alleged and long talked OF old Spanish
mine and has nothing 10 do with that
myth.
The shaft is in the side OF cliff OF
the Ozark range and goes in at an OBJ
lique angle rather than down. 1t is four
miles from Reed Springs in the north
west part Of Taney county, 32 miles
south of Springfield. The ledge is said
) to run down Turkey ~ creek and ex.
tends for distance OF several miles.