The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1913-03-12

10 Scnlral rock houses, dumped ON the
iloor, shovcled into wheelbarrows and
pushed uphill, across the building,
and dumped into shoots that led Ia
the cars beneath and millions OF dol
/ lars worth of copper was carried into
the lakes with shines. Each wrought
as best they knew. But to this day
Ne think the locality of their old pits
a keen" place To look for copper
values
: TINS one thing that seems incom-
prehensible, however. is the fact, that
even the Indians who have inhabited
this region for hundreds of years,
years, have left no knowledge leg.
end OF tradition of these early copper
country miners. And no remnant of
an inhabitance, "A grave or skeleton
has been discovered ON our shores.
Coming TO the definite written his
tory Of old copper country days We
find the first mention of copper vail
ucs made in the reports of the Jesuit
priests and explorers who sailed the
lakes in their canoes. in the year 1853.
Of course, as in almost all cases, the
possibilities of the country were eX-
agcCratcd, for instance. the explor-
crs noted that certain islands noun
taius and shores were OF solid copper.
also many of the cliffs which they
passed. \ century and a half ago
one year after the Boston massacre
and two years previous to the Boston
A l..
andcr Henry To tit out an expedition Ia
mine for copper at the mouth of The
ontonagon river, in the year 10.
Henry had been in this locality IL
l1oj and the Indians had shown him
Il mass of copper, ten miles up the on
tonason river, which he estimated To-
weigh five tons ana from which ~
had cut piece weighing one hundred
pounds. His men during the winter
drifted into the side of the hill forty
feet. but when the ground thaWcd out
in the spring the drift cavcd in, tha
miners became dishcaItcned having
found no copper, and to his Chagrin !
boarded the vessel. which was sent t.
provision them i'm the spring of l772, |
ana returned To the 500. For seven
Iy-une years after this futile attempt !
40 record is found of any copper min !
ms in the lake region.
In the summer of 1880 Governor
,ass visited the region, accompanied |
Dy Douglas Houghton. who saw the |
possibilities of the country. DR. |
Ioughton was aftcrward appointed |
state gcologist and in 1911 made
report so favorable To the copper |
'ountry that interest was rcawakcn-
ii. Suco essrul efforts were made to
obtain title To the country from the
Indians and Il treaty was made with
HON in 1912, approved by the state
n 1913. I'm the summer of that year
". Cunningham arrived at Copper
flarbor as land agent for the gov
.rnment. he opened an office on Por-
crs Island. across the harbUr. and
began the issuing Of government per
nits To those who desired To make
explorations. These permits at first
Untitled one to tracts of land min"
niles square afterwards to tracts one
nile squarcN. Six hundred of these
permits were ISSUED for the year end
ne Nov. -, 1915. and over "a thous-
mi the follow ing year. With the al
'cnt of the land agent also appeared
wo parties of miners. one under Col.
;ratiot. whC expected To mine i'm tn"
iciuity Of Copper Harbor the other
lndcr Thomas Carroll, who went to
he mouth of the Ontonagon river
When the party arrived there they
:. PAUL and II Mr.. Mnolicr. who had
ONE across the country from Platt-
illc wis. In search OF the large
mass Of copper said To- he in that vi
Unity. The coming of these two men,
therefore,. marks the advent of the
modern miner to the Lake Superior
Upper country. They secured tn ;
mass Of copper the obje1t of their
earch. brought it TO the mouth oi
he river and sold 1t To julius Eldrcd,
rom whom the government seized II.
he government afterwards paid Ed
ed for his trouble and he generously I
ent Paul an extra Si0O.
The permits issued by the govern {
lcnt gave rise to much sharp prac-
Ice. The spectators had them made !
ut under fictitious names and sold
hem to the newly arriving lambs. i
'hese men were known locally AZ
'awnecs, owing to the habit they had ,
I placing their hand or paw" upon \
mes shoulder and wanting "a word
n private" when they would cXpa- I
late upon the value of their partic- /
lar script and from which they in y
mated they could be separated. for !
consideration {
TO the Hon David HCnshaw of Bos 4
on, who was secretary of war at the q
ne of The treaty was made. should ! 1
rst bc given credit for the opening [
the copper country. He seemed t. q
ealizc fully it's great possibilities t
nj induced his friends to make in
estments. This early control OF tn" 4
Upper industry has never been relir- 4
uished by these eastern people. 4.
Jhc winter of 1874 saw but "a score G
{ men in the country: they were {
imply claim holders. \ few were at g