St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1910-04-16
RICH in
MINERAL DEPOSI
west Louisiana said 10 Be Field oi Gold, Silver,
zine aud Lead
MINISTER'S DlSCOl ERY
louisiana Now lhe Greatest OIL and sulphur
Field IN The WOEld..NsW Discovery
Startling

Reports have just begun to circu-
late OF the discovery Of rich deposits
of mineral ore ID che western part 0f
Louisiana and the eastern part Of
Texas. The discovery is said to have
been made by a minister who claims
the ore contains gold, silver, lead
and zinc. The Lake Charles American
Press gives the following story Of
the discovery BY the minister:
The discovery and definite location
Of deposits Of mineral ores, the rich
ness Of which will rival the prom
bised Vinton oil field and the acknowl-
edged finest sulphur deposits IN the
world was officially announced Tues.
day morning by Rev. Chas. Nd. Tate,
Christian minister from Merryvills
The greater portion Of the deposits
are in Calcasieu parish, but deposits
Of unlimited value have been located
in the southwestern portion Of Yer
non parish as well as il the north
eastern section Of Newton county,
Texas.
Samples of the ores have been as
sayed by government officials, and
have shown rich deposits Of the min
erals, as is demonstrated BY the fol
lowing figures furnished by MI. Tate
A stratum Of ore assaying 48 per
cent gold and IA per cent silver m
derIies tract Of about 800 acres
about 25 miles north Of Merryville
and is known TO be Is feet in thick
ness, having been bored through By
Mr., Tate.
Several deposits Immediately sur
rounding Merryville have assayaa SO
per cent lead and 10 per cent silver
Extensive beds within d quarter of
a mile of Merryville deposits af lead
and zinc alloyed, che valuation on
this ore being placed at S57 per ton.
The ore lies about twenty feet below
the surface Of the earth and the
stratum il about twenty feet III thick
ness.
just across the Sabine river, about
six miles within the confines of New
ton county, Texas, deposits showing
40 per cent silver have been located.
All Of these deposits except those
lof the gold and Of the silver are To-
Gated III Calcasieu parish, she gold
being in Vernon and the big silver
deposits as mentioned before, In Tex-
as.
Mr.. Tate is practical mining man.
He has had years Of experience ali
the business, especially ii the Mis-
souri, lead and zinc country and can
make his own analyses and assays,
having fitted up d laboratory 1t BIS
home ii MerryvilIe for doing sur
work for himself and others. SO Il
all Of his assays and analyses has
been proved correct BY the goverl
ment assayers. the figures given above
all have been taken from the reports
of the official assayers
Mr. Tate said that he has been en-
gagged in locating these deposits over
a great length Of time and has kept
the results of his work secret until
he could complete deals whereby he
could obtain leases on the land con
tanning the minerals. He now has
something like 10000 acres under
mineral lease, and will be in posi-
tion to make a more detailed an
nouncenisnt as soon as be completes
arrangements for leasing something
like a 900 acres more.
We are going to begin developing
these properties within the next sixty
days" he said, according to our
present plans. A company is now in
course of organization, and this will
be completed and Incorporated lust
as soon as / close the leases fol this
other land that / am after. New O--
leans and Houston people so far have
furnished the capital and they will,
of course have prominent part in
the company
It has been known To the old set
tiers of CaIcasieu and Vernon parish.
.es for generations back that III the
'30's and nos, the indians who were
az that time numerous in this section,
obtained their supply of lead and
silver somewhere in that section Of
of the state, but despite the closest
watching and searching, the location
of the source 0f supply was impOs-
sible.