The St. Joseph observer. [volume] (St. Joseph, Mo.) 1906-1932, 1919-01-11

Disadvantages But With Great
Profit To Himself, Even Thog.,l tlr
Work Waa Hazardous ana 3ody
Racking.
The Slater copper mine two miles
east Of Eminence, Shannon county,
is going to be the greatest copper
mine in the world. This is the opin-
ion Of Colonel l.. O. Neider Of wa
low Springs, president Of the shan
non County Copper Mining Company
who was in West Plains Monday in
the interests of the company.
The new company has secured
perfect title TO the lands on jacks
Fork where Joseph Slater, in the
thirties and prior to the date when
Missouri was surveyed and sectioniz-
ed by the government. mined copper
and found the rich ore in great guam
titles. The new company has put
down a shaft 25 feet deep and found
rich ore. The ore is found at the
grass roots and this essays lS.5 while
ore taken out at a depth of 2j feet
essays $50 copper. The mine is To-
Gated 3 Y miles from the railroad
with excellent facilities for shipping.
The present shaft is only short dis
tance from Skaters original mine.
History Of the discovery of the
mine is that Joseph Slater, an Eng
lishman and practical miner for that
time, explored the Current river coun-
try in 1880 and sometime thereafter
a short distance from the present
town of Emnence, discovered rich
- veins of copper ore. He sunk a shaft
and about a mile from the mines on
! Shawnee creek, built a charcoal fur
Z mace to smelt the ore, and operated
the blast by water power.
q Kept Location Secret.
The sparse settlement Of the adja-
4 cent country made it possible for
Slater 10 operate the mine almost Sc
q cretly. His employees, which were
4 six in number and were sworn 10 Sc
8 crecy, and but a few years ago the
8 only one living, refused to violate his
obligation to Slater and reveal the
q exact location Of the mine and its
z hidden veins. The only other clews
- to the location Of the old mine are
obtained from government field note.
and plats showing the location of tn,
~ old Slater mine. The ruins of tn,
furnace may be seen on the grounC
~ and the old race, from where the dan
was located on the creek down to tn,
: old furnace, where the water whee
and bellows stood to furnish the bias
for smelling the ores. These ar
mute witnesses Of the acts of Slate
in his mining ventures. in the wilder
ness Of long ago and now to becom
one of the greatest mining centers o
the United States.
There is no doubt from the histor,
Of these mines that Slater mined
smelted' in his crude way. and ship
ped down the Current river in fla
boats TO New Orleans, more thai
100000 worth Of copper pigs or in
gots. Slater was known to have beel
operating these mines at the tim
when the lands were thrown open I
entry. History goes that one of tn
Chiltons, a pioneer Of the southeas
Missouri, knowing Of slater's working
Of these mines, went to the land OF
flee at Jackson, Missouri, and file
on and entered the lands from tn
government on which Slater's mine
were operated. Slater heard of Chill
- tons plan, ana hurried off in pursuit
but arrived at the land office too late
Chiffon having already obtained tn
lands covering his mines.
Slater, realizing that he had lost
returned and ordered his employee
o. to bury the mines. The SHAFT wa
- filled with debris and the veins, sal
to have been near the surface, wer
covered with sod and trees. Slater
ID however, refused TO turn over the pos
session Of these lands to Chiffon. Lit
cation ensued and lasted for years 1
the courts. Then came on the CIV
War and for some years afterward
- there was no thought OF working G
looking after the old Slater mine
The lands changed ownership and 1
1875 Colonel Bier and others torms
a corporation, based upon some 600
acres Of land in which these land
were included. This corporation di
- some work and took out some sever.
y tons OF ore.
Then Came IAtigation.