The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1908-05-20
Indian lead Mines a Myth.

The Oil City Derrick in a story of the
rediscovery by boys of the opening to a
forgotten old cave in that city, gives the
following interesting explanation of the
Indian "lead mines" In the cave the
boys found pile of rocks that glittered
like diamonds and gave out purple and
yellow colors. An assay proved the rocks
to be rich specimens of pyrites, contain
ing arsenic, copper, sulphur and iron,
and it is considered certain they were
placed in the cave by outside agencies.
Following is the lead mine portion of
the story:
The discovery of this material in the
ore line will doubtless remind the older
residents of the county, especially those
who sntedated the discovery of oil in this
section of the state, of the sporadic efforts
made to discover the "lead mines" of the
Indians ofthis section, and whose stores
of lead, sold to the hunters and lumber
men, were a source of wonder as well as
something TO arouse the cupidity of the
white settlers to the highest degree.
With all the prospecting for lead in
this section of the state both before, dur
ing and following the first oil excitement,
it is needless to say that no lead mine was
ever discovered it is long before the
present generations was born since the
Seneca Indians offered any ofthat mineral
for sale.
Samuel d. Irwin, Esq, of Tionesta,
Forest county, one of the old pioneers
who keeps abreast of the times and than
whom none is better posted on the habits
ofthe aborigines who had their homes in
this end of the state and parts of Ohio and
New York, gives very comprehensive
. explanation of the causes that gave rise to
the Indian lead mine legend.
, 1t was during the celebration of the
, centennial of the county, held at Franklin
some years ago, that Mr.. Irwin discussed
the past local history and the settlement
of hereabouts in an informal way. The
lead mine question came up and in few
, words he showed that even if geological
conditions we're favorable for the finding
of lead ore, that the Seneca Indians were
without any appliances by which it might
be extracted from the rock. That lead
can only be obtained by fusing, an opera
ton of which all tribes of Indians a.e ig-
norsnt. That they have no idea of max
ing intense heat, other than by a roaring
, | fira l.; ;ol, 10 nHo
, upon lead ore.
He conceded that the Indians had pure
lead and plenty of it but explained their
possession in the following way. Thai
after the French and Indian wars against
, the English, when the French troops
evacuated their forts and settlements in
the wilderness, they left behind them
many bars of refined lead that they had
. stored for the manufacture OF bullets, by
the old method of melting and pouring
into molds. These being bulky it was
much easier to leave them behind, being
of no further use to the French than tC
carry the bars with them and there were
many of the forts, after being abandoned
or evacuated by the French, which wert
not visited by the English troops. Tht
Indians finding these ingots oflead-witl
native craitiness-placed them in The
heart of great fires puilt upon rocks, anC
when their original form was destroyed
by the heat gathered the misshaped mas
up and brought it to the English, anC
later the American troops. exchanging
the mineral for goods or firewater. AnC
TO cover up the possibility oftbe source o
r their riches being discovered declared
4 that they had mined the stuff from thu
{ rocks.
# The explanation is so plausible in ad
dition to proofs offered by biologists ant
. the thousands who have hunted for tht
a lost lead mines of the Indians, and failed
s that it must be accepted as the only tru'
foundation ior the lead mine legend.