Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-20
MILLIONS IN SILVER
Great Wealth in Depths Of Ca
madam WiIdernesses.
ONTARIO'S MINING RECORD
Produces $1e1, 4S8,o51 in Precious
Metals Up to March 81.
PATHS POLISHED BY MEMS FEET
Government Builds Lines Of Rail
way, Communicating With
Camps Of the Prospectors.
PATHS POLISHED BY MEMS FEET

Camps Of the Prospectors.
By WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
ALGONQUIN PARK, Canada.
September Z, 1911.
For what has always been considered an
agricultural province. Ontario has mace
a remarkable mining record-equvaient
to those Of most mineral countries-ano
| the evidence OF the past would lnoicate
that there must be still even greater
| wealth in the depths Of her w1ldernesses.
The mines Of Ontario had proouceo
$161. 4S6O61 in precious metals up 70 inc
91st Of March last. Cobalt. which was
regarded az joke for two or three years
after the discovery, and later as q freak
IL now recognized as one OF the richest
permanent silver camps on the American
continent. Up to the 31st Of March last
Cobalt had produced 100000 IN silver.
The first mining camp In Canada was
| the Caribou placers, disc ,vered by pros
pectors from California Later the ROSS
land and other silver deposits were found
| in British Columbia The gravel OF carr
bou has been washed out. Rossland Is
still shipping some silver. but mas quiet
| ed down to the conditions Of a country
village. Canadian camps have never
been tough like tho traditional Amert-
can mining settlements. Few people ever
pack guns, and the slot machine ID
usually the limit of gambling. During the
widest excitement in the Klondtke, DaW-
son was az safe as Jerusalem. One quiet,
slender man with the wide hat and the
red jacket Of the northwestern mount
ed police backed by public opinion and by
the Dominion government, and reinforced
nth nd
ish empire. has always been able to Keep.
In submission the bad men" Of the Cana
dian frontier. There have never been
| seen In Canada the wild and Woody west,
| in similar settlements In the United
States, and the why and the wherefore
are questions that the Canadians love to
discuss.
Nondike Placers Washed Out.
Nothing Is doing in the Klondike.
The placers are washed out, the sur
face has been stripped: the output OF
gold which sprang from nothing to
nearly S20.000,000 has fallen to less
than $12,000,000 during the last two
years Mining is now a question OF
machinery, and. while the biologists
believe that vast riches are still con-
cealed in the rocks, the Klondike Is no
longer a place for poor men. Its hidden
wealth can be disclosed only by the
| use Of large capital and expensive
power. The population has dwind1ed
The city Of Dawson, which had $4,000
or 10000 Inhabitants 1--WE years ago, has
less than 5000 now. and all great prof.
ects have been suspended.
| The White Pass railway from Skag-
way to the White Horse rapids on the
/ Yukon river continues to be operated
for a distance Of $50 miles, and Is of
great Importance. The company ex-
pected to build down the river to
Dawson, but has stopped work and IS
waiting future developments.
| The railway committee OF the house
OF commons Of the Dominion parlia-
ment last winter reported bill incor-
porating the British Columbia and
ital of S10.00O.0O0 and incorporators
from New York. Chicago. Montreal and
Vancouver. The company expects to
build line about a thousand miles
long. from Vancouver to Dawson. and
the Province OF British Columbia has
promised liberal subsidy in the way
Of guarantee on interest. but the out
look in the Klondike Is 80 discourage
ing that the road Is not likely to be
built at present.
Another Line Projected.
The Grand Trunk Company has a
similar concession for a line from
Edmonton northwestward into the
Klondike, but Mr.. Hays, the president
tells me that nothing will be done or
thought Of until its transcontinental
line Is completed and In operation.
Then he says, the Grand Trunk COM
pany will be ready to tackle the Klon-
dixie problem and its actions will be
governed by developments between
now and then.
All mining interest in Canada is now
~l4k tal,
is in the Province Of Ontario, northwest
| of Toronto northeast of Lake Huron and
Georgian bay, ana about half way between
! Lake Ontario and James bay, which Is a
part Of Hudson bay. The Porcupine dis
trict Is reached by q railroad built by the
provincial government of Ontario as an
extension Of the Grand Trunk system
| which will some day come under control
Of the company by lease and furnish
a link between it's transcontinental line
from Quebec to Winnipeg, north Of the
great lakes, and the southern half of the
| system which extends from New Lon
don. Portland and Quebec to Toronto,
Sarnia and Chicago.
| The government road which is called
the Temiskawing and Northern Ontario.
Is about 200 miles long and extends into
| a dense forest, where rich mines were
discovered by accident several years ago.
The first discovery was near Lake Tema-
gami. q popular summer1ng place. Wnen
the graders were at work about thirty
miles north of Lake Temagamj black
| smith named La Rose threw his hammer
at 4 running rabbit, Clipped on a chunk
| of native rock and picked up a piece OF
almost pure native silver. That was the
discovery Of the famous La Rose mine
and the beginning OF the COBALT camp.
Within the next four years the rocks In
that neighborhood were capitalized at
about $5OO00o,0OO.
i Roadways Of Silver.
Cobalt was unique Paths Of almost
pure silver, worn bright as dollar. pol
ished by the feet Of passing prospectors,
pilgrims and tourists, were to be seen on
more than one claim. Two Of these ''sil-
yer sidewalks" as newspaper writer's
lhaye called them. were found on the very
surface Of the earth, In shallow washes.
In spite Of validating Cobalt has pro-
duced millions Of ounces OF silver every
year and % per cent OF It has gone to the
shareholders by way Of dividends
/ A year ago prospectors round free gold
i On Porcupine creek and there was a
i stampede. Nobody expected to find gold
| in the heart Of a hushed and heavily
wooded wilderness. The new camp Is a
hundred miles north Of the silver camp
Of Cobalt and less than 200 miles south
Of Hudson bay. WONDERFUL specimens
Of the yellow metal are to be seen In
glass cases in the lobby Of the King
Edward Hotel. in Toronto. where much
Of the mining IL done. as well as many
Of the miners.
The Ontario government Is building a
branch road from the main line Of the
kTamiskaming and Northern Ontario to