Evening star., 1928-11-04

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and the copper boulder was transported;
and when at last the rock was lowered
to the main stream, nature smiled on
the labors of the workmen by sending
freshet to carry their heavily ladens
boat over the lower rapids and down to
the lake"
The report of the National Museum
for 1895 tells us that:
During the Winter of 1S47-48 Mr..
Samuel o. Knapp, the agent OF the
Minnesota mine, observed on the pres.
ent location of that mine curious de.
preston in the soil, caused, as he con-
jectured, by the disintegration of vein.
Following up these indications he came
upon cavern, the home of several por-
cupineS. On clearing out the rubbish
he found many stone hammers, and at
depth of Is feet he came upon mass
of native copper 10 feet long, feet
wide and nearly 2 feet thick Its weight
was more than 6 tons. This mass was
found resting upon billets of oak sup
ported by sleepers of the same wood.
There we're three courses of billetS and
two courses of sleepers. The wood had
lost all its consistency. so that a knife
blade penetrated 1t as easily as if it
had been peat. but the earth packed
about the copper gave that a firm sup
port. BY means Of the cobwork the
miners had raised the mass about
feet, or something less than one-quarter
of the way to the mouth of the pit
The marks of fire used to detach the
copper from the rock showed that the
early miners were acquainted with a
process used with effect by their sue
ceSSors. This fragment had been pound
ed until every projection was broken
of and then had been left, when and
for what reason Is still unknown. From
similar pits on the same location came
10 carloads of ancient hammers. one of
which weighed 3915 pounds and was
fitted with two grooves for a double
handle. There were also found a copper
CAD, a copper cl1isel with socket in
which was the remains of a copper
handle and fragments of wooden bail
ing bowls. At the Mesnard mine In
1862 was found an 13-ton boulder that
the ancient miners had moved 43 feet
from its original bed.
1.-THE fact that growing in the debris
OF one of these ancient pits was hem
lock having 395 annular rings places the
date of the excavations before the days
of Columbus. That they were made BY
q IdCC OlSLIIlCt from the present Indians
is inferred from the fact that the In
dians knew nothing of copper In place,
and they had no traditions of the an
cient copper mines which coVer the en-
tire copper belt and which have been to
modern miners the best indications of
the presence of that metal. Within 2
miles of one of these ancient dirgine&'
as they were called, the copper rock
was found"
The Ontonagon copper boulder is daily
exhibited in the Department of Geology
in the Natural History Building of the
United States National Museum and is
viewed by many people, who, however.
little suspect Its wonderful tradition and
history
During the existence of the old War
Building, from 1920 to 1879. many great
men occupied quarters within its walls
as Secretaries of War. These, In order.
included John c. Calhoun, James Bar
bour, p. B. Porter. John H. Eaton. the
second husband of Peggy" Omen, and
whose marriage disrupted Jacksor1's cab
met; Lewis Cass, 3. F. Butler, Joel r.
Polnsett, John Bell, James M Porter,
John @. SpenSer, William wilkins, VII
liam L. Marcy, George W. Crawford,
Charles M. Conrad. Jefferson Davis.
John B. Floyd, Joseph Holt, Simon
Cameron, Edwin NJ Stanton, ulysses S.
Grant, Lorenzo Thomas, John M. Scho-
field, John A. Rawlins, William W. Bel
knap, AlphonSo Taft, father of Chief
Justice William Howard Taft: j. Donald
Cameron, George N. McCrary and Alex
auder Ramsey.