Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-01
MONEY WON AND LOST
Many Opportunities to Make
Fortunes Rejected.
RICH IRON LANDS DESPISED
Stories Told of the Development Of
the Mesaba Range.
REWARDS OF BOLD PIONEERS
Deeds Allowed to Lie Neglected for
Years Prove Immensely Valuable.
Litigation Over Section 80.
REWARDS OF BOLD PIONEERS
BY WILLIAM. f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence OF The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald

Special Correspondence OF The Star and the Chicago
Record-Herald
HIBBING, Mimi, September Is, 1907.
Somebody ought to collect all the ro-
mances of the Mesaba range and put them
into book before it is too late to get the
| material first hand. Never were there more
fantastic freaks of fate than in the early
history of this great reservoir of wealth,
and the number of men who voluntarily
lodged great fortunes that pursued them In
connection with the development Of this
range was never so great in South AFRICA
or in any other part of the universe. The
stories that are told of the Indifference
Of men Of experience in the iron ore In
dustry to the opportunities offered here are
almost incredible. Men who had seen one
new mining district after another dis
covered and developed and who had spent
all their lives in that business were SO
short-sdghted and skeptical as to reject OPP
portunities repeatedly offered them. The
promises were so fabulous that they paid
no attention to them. Portions OF this
nominal cost at the headquarters OF the
| iron trade in Pittsburg, Cleveland. Chi
cago and other places and the blindness OF
human nature even repelled some of the
! greatest fortunes that were ever bestowed
upon human beings. Several iron manu-
facturers refused to accept some OF these
valuable deposits as a gift. On the other
hand dozen more fortunate individuals
who happened to own timber land along the
range wera shrewd enough to make con-
tracts on a royalty basis for the develop
ment OF their property and ever since have
been drawing enormous dividends ''on Easy
street"
1t should be said. however. that the dis
covery occurred almost simultaneously with
the financial panic OF 1893 when the re-
sources Of the iron trade were crippled:
when individual manufacturers and cor
porations were compelled to struggle for
| their existence and the preservation Of what
interests they had without taking any fur
Their risks. It should also be said that the
ore found on the Mesaba range was an en-
tirely new proposition and its value was
discredited by many Of the most influential
nnents in the blast furnaces were disap-
pointing. The furnace men did not know
how to handle it and the proportion Of flne
ore was SO large that much Of it escaped
with the gas In smelling. Many exaS-
gerated and humorous stories were told to
| illustrate the prejudice against the ore. One
firm Of furnace men declared that the dust
had extingufshed the fires in their stacks;
and a story went around the newspapers
about q trainioad Of Mesaba ore that was
caught in . windstorm between Ashtabula
and Pittsburg and blown away. It took
a long time to overcome this prejudice and
that Is one reason. no doubt. why capital
lists were SO reluctant to put their money
into the mines.
Bold Pioneers Rewarded.
On the other hand. several bold and en-
terprising pioneers have been we'll rewarded
for their confidence in the future of the
Mesaba. and, as I have said, some one
ought to get the facts together while these
actors in the drama are still alive.
Take the case OF Mr.. E. NJ Fowler. for
example. He died couple Of years ago.
leaving q fortune Of more than $50 OOO, 600
and an annual income OF half a million dol
lars from royalties on mines which had
been developed on lands bought for the
| came originally from Clayton. N. Y. and
settled In Detroit, where he went into the
lumber business with Messrs. Robinson.
Flynn and others They bought large
| early days at 1925 an acre. The timber
was hard to get out, but 1t paid the cost of
the land many times over, and they were
well satisfied with the investment. Their
| Cruisers or "timber-lookers'' frequently
reported float ore and other Indications Of
minerals on the land. but they took the
same view Of the situation as Frederick
Weyerhauser did when he was offered $780,
900 900 worth of hidden ore for 1OO.OOo.
They said that they were lumbermen and
not miners. But the time came when they
were willing to be both. The uncertainty
as to what the soil would bring forth was
another factor in their favor, because it
made 1t expedient for the operators to lease
the mining rights on contingent basis, tn
stead of buying the land outright. Mr..
Fowler leased the mining rights on his land
for Is cents and 80 cents ton on all the
ore that was taken out, and even that rate
made him enormously wealthy. 1t Is a
curious and interesting fact that the best
timber was underlaid with the finest ore.
Mr. Fowler had several thousand acres and
received more royalties than have been
paid on any other property He spent his
last days at Pasadena, Cal. He was q
brother Of Mrs. Cyrus H. Mccormick, &C.,
of Chicago.
One of the most romantic stories Is told
Of the Adams mine, which ships more than
ped more than ten million tons In all. In
1892 cruiser" named Pete Kimberly of
Sharon, Pa. was prospecting for iron
| range for several months. and used to
spend a good deal Of time in a saloon where
David T. Adams was barkeeper. They soon
became friends and exchanged condolences.
One day Adams said to Kimberly: Il know
where there Is some ore In the roots of a
fallen tree. and III take you there tomor-
row." They found 1t and filed claim to
the celebrated Adams mine. which they
afterward sold for million dollars. KIM
berly negotiated the trade, and not only
named the property In honor Of his in
formant but gave him a third interest In
1t on a nall In the back room. and became
one Of the most successful prospectors in
this region. He is a millionaire several
times over and Is now living In Chicago
Kimberly is dead.
People tell me up here that Adams has a
curious reputation among mining men, who
believe that he can find iron whenever he
goes out to look for 1t. and therefore every
movement he makes Is keenIy watched
J. M. Williams Of Chicago. who died a
few years ago. owned the land upon which
the famous Biwabik mine was found, and
1t made him enormously rich. He has two
sons and a daughter living in Chicago
Deeds Long Regarded as Worthless.
The story Of the Chaplin mine on the Me-
nominee range Is even more romantic. Mr..
Chaplin. a merchant at Niles, Mich, was in
duced by friend to invest a small sum of
money In tract Of wild timber land In
northern Wisconsin at a dollar and a quar-
ter an acre. He got his deeds and out
them away and felt rather foolish about
the investment. Some years later he failed
In business and gave up everything he
,ad fort 10