Semi-weekly herald., 1907-10-17
RICHES IN MINES OF
NORTHERN MICHIGAN.
by William +. Curtis. Correspondent
OF Chicago Record Herald

Houghton, Mich, Oct. 4--Horace
j. Stevens is the oracle of the copper
country. He is the author OF an in
teresting literary perennial called
THE Copper Handbook" which tells
yon al You ought to know about the
copper mines of the world for Mr..
Stevens is in communication with ev-
cry recognized authority and every
source of information on that subject
and what he does not know about
the mines of Michigan IS scarcely
worth attention.
THE three counties. Houghton. Ke
weenaw and Ontonagon. constituting
the copper bell of Michigan said AIr
Stevens in answer to my question.
have probably added more to the
wealth OF the world than any other
equal area. except perhaps the Com
stock lode OF Nevada, the anthracite
coal belt Of Pennsylvania, the Guiana,
iuato silver district in central Mexico
and the Witwatersrand OF South Afri-
ca. which slightly resembles the Lake
Superior copper district in that its
gold values are carried in a conglom-
crate reef like the copper .of the
Calumet and Hecla mine. with about
The same width and somewhat aat
dip along which mines have been open
ed for about thirty miles Butte
Mont, has also produced a correspond.
ing amount of copper with a consid
cradle byproduct of silver and gold.
The Black country of England has
produced billion dollars worth OF
coal and ironstone and the total out
put of Guanajuato has been about
5000. 900 900 TO date.
The total contribution of the cop
per belt of Michigan to the worlds
wealth probably exceeds 5000, 1000 900.
A little mining was done here in the
\ 40s. but the district was not deye- |
oped until after the war and has been
growing steadily. or almost steadily. |
during the last thirty or forty years 1t
takes from five to en- years to open |
:; new mine in this district and,it costs |
as much to prospect a property here
as TO develop one in most mining |
fields. hence temporary fluctuations do |
not affect our operations seriously |
either in prospecting or indevelop |
ment.
Our great mine. the Calumet and |
'kecla, began work in 1866 as two |
10perties. Each had arrived at the |
dividend-paying basis when they We're |
consolidated with three other small |
adjacent properties. They We're dis !
covered by Edward j. Hubert, who |
now lives in Rome Italy. perma
nent invalid. nearly so years old. In |
the slang of the street, Mr., Hubert |
bit off more than he could chew as
many a prospector has done before
and since. He had a good thing. but |
couldn't handle 1t. He hypothecated |
his stock and let it drop out OF his |
gineer. hut u poor business man.
While prospecting he found on the Ke
weenaw peninsula a boulder OF con
giomerate unlike anything in the way |
o. copper-bearing rock that had ever
before been seen in this country. and J
he uncovered the bed upon which |
these mines were opened. He quietly |
purchased three or four sections OF
land from the company which had re
ceived a grant from the state to as
sist in building the So canal. That |
cooperation is still in existence and |
Is known as the St Mary's Mineral |
I!4and company. Hubert obtained fl |
nancial assistance from Boston peo-
pie who arganized one company after |
another TO develop lis discoveries, and |
invested nearly s $50, 600 before they |
were on a divide nd-paying basis. In
those days government land was sold |
at sl.25 an acre and prospectors were |
allowed nine square miles each oil |
mineral land. These lands were dense
ly covered with timber and the stump |
age more than paid for them.
MIR. Hubert couldn't swing his job |
He had to keep borrowing more and
more money until a slump came along |
and he was wiped out. There was no |
reorganization on account Of his loss
es. that being a personal matter he
tween himself and the men who loan
ed him the money.
In 1871 the Hecla, Calumet, Red
Jacket. Scott and Portland mines were
merged. The three latter companies
had valuable lands with the underlay
Of the conglomate. The combination
.ilas since paid upward of 100000. 900
in dividends, more than any other
mining company that ever existed. II
Is still owned by the original stock
holders or their descendants and is a
= ood deal of family affair. The re
organization was merely merger OF
the same interests under the general
management of Professor Aggasiz, who