The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-24

in the state and out of it-forever! Cha
teaux EN- espagne?'
when 1 came to Alabama nearly
seven years ago it was like visiting
foreign country and I took 1t just
as we all take foreign places l just
went out and saw whatever there was
TO see Coal and iron business is what
every newcomer and visitor is most in
terested in here. In all my life I had
never seen mine of any description
until I came to Birmingham.
| But what made you want to see
one%I inquired. Lots of women man
age to survive without so much as a
glimpse of mine or furnace, to say
nothing of a look at the Ensley steel
plant
well. Just simply naturally could
not, ] suppose" she said. Besides
reading Bret Harte's stories and Mrs.
Burnett's That Lass o. Lowkie's.' heard
at first hand about mines. 1t was
when / was 16 or II years old.
was out in Chicago working for a
few months as reporter on the Chron-
Tile and 1 met Satie McNie, and State
McNiel knew the Mesabi range by
heart"
did you ever meet anybody who
has lived on the Mesabl range who
could tell about it'll asked.
'Satie McNiel could" was the quick
reply. "She was then In Denman
Thompson's company playing The Old
Homestead The young artist Anna
Burnham from Duluth, Mimi, was q
chum of Satie McNiel, and also one
OF mine. She let me know the even
ing the company reached Chicago that
Miss McNiel was to be her guest and
to come. I fewp
Then I heard her story. She drew
the whole country for me, the lakes
and the deep woods and ] saw my
first ore mines In the Goals of Anna
Burnheim's fire, and through Satie Nc
NiePs eyes,
ITO the uninitiated it sounded some
thing like this:
"Mesabi range-Running a hand cad
ROCK Channing-Roosevelts Rough Ri
ders-Miners' lamps-Battle of San Juan
steam shovels-M. j. C. Mnes-Sherman
Bell Mines-Wells Fargo Express rob-
oer1es-ESack Hawk-Sitting Bull-Dia-
fnond drills-Buffalo Bills sister-Dense
pine woods of Minnesota-Mines-D
lalk-Ore crushers-Black Jack-Rock
channing--I can't begin to recall that I'M
possible list
The strangest part is that just few
years later l actually met Mr.. Edwin
Ball and Mr.. Bacon, who were at that
time on the Mesabi range
And how they remember Satie Newell
And every part of the picture drawn by
that delightful girl has been painted over
to me again by Mr.. Ball and just four
weeks ago by Mr.. Bacon, color for color
and place for place, just as she drew it
for me back in 1900.
1T was no wonder you became inter-
ested in iron mines. with Satie Newell
and Anna Burnham to tell you all the
other side," l said enthusiastically
1.-THE romance and the picture sider'
But to go on with my story" said Miss
Armes. 81 never dreamed that / myself
would actually see an ore mine.
ITO make long story short, my fam
lily removed to Birmingham shortly aft
| erward and one of the first things | did
after I got here was to find Red Noun
tain, which 1 did ana went out all by
myself, exploring. / saw my first mine
Valley View. 1t was as wild looking as
Brit Hartes Roaring Camp and just ex-
actly suited me. ! hadn't seen MIR. RAM
says Banner or Mr.. Balls Ishcooda Mr..
Gordon Crawford says Valley View is my
pet mine and l think perhaps he's right.
Whenever l mention Valley View to Mr..
Ball he smiles little and remem-
bers Minnesota and the M. J. C. Mines
Next day hurried down to the library
to get the history of the Birmingham
district of the men back of it. There was
none. I felt absolutely the queerest SEN
sation to think of all there was here and
ucNcT q DOOh " tcll dDOul II. Inc ONLY
thing then In the library was worn old
book called the Jefferson County Record,
all jumbled up, and written hap-hazard
way back In the eighties. Then l called
on Mr.. Henry F. DeBardeleben, familiar
ly known as THE king OF the southern
iron worold."
II began to gather data. I used 10 go
out a good many times with the en-
gineers of the Louisville and Nashville
learned how railroad construction work
was started; helped lay out the yard
at Boyles and build the round house
there, circled the Horn ran engines and
loafed around the commissaries. There
is nothing in the world so good as loaf
ing and watching the other fellows work
Several Birmingham people used to join
our camping party. among them Miss
Anne Roberts, now Mrs. Gaylor; Miss
Elizabeth Johnston, Mrs. J. D. Kirkpat-
rick and Miss Fannie Dunn"
Through my friend IS. Mrs.. We s. LQy-