Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-01-14
A RADlUM MINE IN OZARkS?
A Discovery, the Value of Which Re
mains to Be Proved

mains TO be proved.
One red and gold November DAY.
thirty three wears ago three Missouri
hill billies" followed their yeIpiny
'hollnd-deg' up deep mountain canon
in Barry County, Missouri They were
on the trail of wildcat. Where the
canon came to an end. blocked by the
face of rocky cliff. the cat disappear
ed in the black mouth OF an unsuspect-
ed cave. The hound followed the
hunters Waiting outside, their rifles
ready. Fifteen minutes later the bay
of the dog was heard on the top of the
cliff. Plainly the big hole ran clean
through the mountain. The hound was
whistled down and sent through
second time. Then the four hunters
prepared to explore the cavern on
their own account
What followed would. in the days of
mythology. have added half a dozen
grim and deadly monsters to the rank
of the supernatural enemies of man
kind. The story is told by old. "B1f'
Boyeeyer, one of the hunters, who. aft
ter more than thirty years. is now liv-~
ing at Chance. Oklahoma. The events
of that November day made such an
impression on his mind that. in an of-
fidavit made only last March, he is
Fable to recall them in vivid detail.
"A little way in from the mouth Of
the cave Bill Henry. John Dempsey
and / found what looked to us like
rich silver ore. 1t was growing dusk
and we decided te go back to can't,
get a good nights rest and return the
next day 70 make q more careful ex-
/ animation. In the morning we lit our
pitch-pine torches and started in.
About two hundred feet from the
mouth the cave was Partially blocked
by what looked like a big tree trunk
of solid silver. II WAS a light peacock
blue in color and gIittered like dia-
monds in the glare of our torches We
filled a small box with bits chopped off
this pillar of ore. but it was so heavy
we could hardly lift it. Finally we
went on further into the cave. Nearly
! five hundred feet from the entrance we
! entered big arched room. the walls
of which shone Hike polished silver. It's
roof was supported by three transpar-
| ent, crystal pillars, each about the d.
! ameter of a salt barrel. The floor ana
part of the walls were q light-biue,
shimmering mineral. We thought We
| had found our eternal fortunes. FTes-
entity we noticed that when we got on
| the other side of the crystal pillars
! our torches died down and almost
went out. We got scared and hurried
back to the mouth of the cave, When
we reached the open air / fell down IN
a heap and was not able to move my
legs. Henry keeled over in sort OF
faint and Dempsey commenced 10
talk wild and raving. The boy we
had left To wait for us at the caves
mouth ran for help and finally we We're
all carried back to camp.
Henry's condition grew 50 serious
that he was taken to a hospital at
Carthage, Mo-, where he lay for weeks
before recovery. Henry collapsed ana
| sores like burns broke out all over MS
body. Paralysis finally ended III ms
| death Henry went back, when he got
well. to work his silver mine, but a
quarrel over the title TO the land drove
him away. after he had blocked up and
hidden the mouth of the cave. The
story of the strange adventures OF the
! three hunters spread by word OF mouth
among the Arkansas and Missouri hills
and finally became one of the grim ira
:iitions II the Ozarks
When Professor and Madame Curl1e
discovered. in Paris, the wonder
working element, radium, word or It's
marves. finally penetrated the WlldS
of the mountains and came TO the ears
of James L. Leib, a prospector ana
self taught geologist who has grown
up in the hills about Bentonville and
Rogers He had heard of the death
dealing cave, and, at once assoclated
it with the terrible powers of the new
element. Hunting up old Bill Boy
4 ceyer in his Oklahoma home, Lelb
procured from him directions Tor ma
ing the lost cavern. Taking the neees-
sary precautions to avoid personal IN
Jury he entered its mouth far enough
to pick up some bits of the strange
blush ere. From Madame Currie, her
self. he received directions for making
a Photograph, the infallibie proof o.
| ratjio-activity in an ore. With the help
of a country photographer in Eenton-
Vile he succeeded in making What
appeared to be perfectly successful and
| characteristic photographs. The
first were made four years ago and
were displayed at the county fairs and
annie shows in the Ozark country
Samples of the ore were submitted to
PROFESSOR A. H. Purdue State geolo-
DIST of Tennessee and former State
chemist of Arkansas. BY making IN
| dependent experiments he succeeded
in convincing himself that the samples
submitted were highly radioactive
and that the discovery of the cave