The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-08-29
DISCOVERY OF MY AL
RECALLS IkDIsN STORY
THREE FOOT VEIN OF LEAD ORE
THOUGHT TO HAVE BEEN UN-
COVERED IN LAKE TWP.
Large Chunk of Metal Brought To
Surface on William Swingle's
Farm Near Lake Ariel When
Boring Well.

large tnunh OF metal BrOuSnG 10
Surface on William Swingle's
Farm Near Lake Ariel When
Boring q Well.
The discovery of three-foot vein
of ore beneath the surface of land
owned by William Swingle, who
ives about a tnile north of Lake
Ariel, in Lake township, one day last
week, caused no little excitement
among the people living in this vi
cinity The vein appears to be a
good one and from the appearance
of the metal it is judged to be lead
ore The vein runs parallel to a
ledge of rock and lies on top of the
rock. By the size and appearance
of the specimen that was brought to
the surface it is thought that rich
deposit of lead ore lies there. For a
a long time it has been the general
supposition that copper and lead ore
existed in parts of Wayne county but
up to this time no evidence of a vein
had been uncovered. The Swingle
farm lies in rather hilly country
this side of the village of Lake
Ariel.
The discovery of the vein of what
is supposed to be lead ore by Mr..
Swingle came as a surprise. He had
been engaged in boring a we'll on
his place and last Friday after
hosting the loose dirt and clay from
the hole he found a large piece of
metal. The piece gave evidence of
having been cut away from a larger
formation and was about three feet
in thickness. The metal was soft
enough for the drill to cut through
and it lay on top of a rock formation
1t is not known just how far be-
meath the surface the vein was en-
countered. Samples of the ore tend
to prove that the find is a valuable
one, but Mr.. Swingle in all probabil-
ity will send the ore specimens to
the assay office at Washington for
examination.
The finding of what is supposed
to be a lead deposit in Lake town
ship recalls to mind story that has
been handed down for many gener-
atoms concerning the existence of
lead ore. The story originated with
the Indians and appears to have
been about the time of the Revolu-
tonary war. Old residents state for
a fact that the Indians who roamed
the lands at that time knew of the
existence of lead ore and for some
unknown reason concealed the
knowledge from the white settlers
after their advent into that region.
1t was only by accident, so it is
stated, that its existence became
known to the settlers and then after
finding the mine they were no long
er able to locate it.
The Indian mind was subtle and
evidently knowing that lead was
used for the making of bullets for
their muskets, also realized that it
was better to keep the location of
the mine secret.
An old resident of that locality
relates that when his father was
young man and the valley was yet
the home of the red man, he and
another man brought up the subject
of the existence of lead while con-
versing with a friendly native. The
old Indian said that the story was
| true but refused to tell them where
it could be found. After some per-
suasion the Indian consented to lead
them to the mine and secure for
them a small quantity of the ore if
they would allow themselves to be
| blindfolded. The men submitted
and the Indian led the way through
the forest, winding in and out as he
did so, so that a trail could not be
| followed. In due time the bandages
were taken from their eyes and they
beheld a large fiat stone lying be-
fore them. They were in an open
space in the forest. The stone was
removed, revealing a hole into the
earth The old Indian bade the men
descend into the hole and take what
they wanted They took their axes
and chopped away from what ap-
peared to be an endless supply of
lead. Taking as much as they could
carry, they were again blindfolded
and led away. They tried to mark
the trail by breaking off twigs from
the shrubbery and trees but in MAX
| ing an attempt to find the spot in
the midst of the forest a second time
they failed. The trail had been lost.
Many times people have searched for
this lead mine and failed and the
story as it is handed down from
generation to generation loses none
of it's mystery and leaves the present
day people of that region still Won
dering whether or not there ever was
such a mine. Perhaps Mr.. Swingle
has stumbled onto an end of the
vein. Who knows?