Western news and the Libby times. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1920-1933, 1930-01-23
Writes Snappy
Article Giving
zOnolitc History

1
zonolite History
| A very readable article on Zonolite
was printed last week in a number of
Montana papers that use a ready
print service published at Great Falls
| The article was written by Mary
| Pardee and was illustrated with pic
ture of E. N. Alley, -discoverer and
developer of the mineral. The story
follows;
To link the production of "talkies'
with worms seems to compare with
bridging the Colorado canyon. Yet for
| inhabitants of Libby, Montana, the
fact is an accomplished commonplace.
| Of course, there are worms and
worms, and Libby residents have had
the scientific worm thrust on them
SO gradually they are hardly aware
of any popularity.
Years ago, when northwest Montana
was being actively prospected, John
Rennie prospected his way through
the country to the vicinity of what
is now Libby, Montana.
Rennie forms the first link in the
chain of the inanimate worms fasci-
mating history, though he would have
been surprised to know it. So would
the rest of the puppets in the stage
play, until quite by accident the profit
able discovery was made clear near the
re 1nhn pnrp4Sntc ~
site.
Centering his search on placer gold,
Rennie explored a branch of the koo-
tenai river and prospected its banks
In time the stream became known as
"Rennie" creek And in still more time
the name "Rennie" came to be pro-
nounced Rainy" way words have in
usage of changing their identity
Rainy creek contained no gold and
John Rennie, only having found some
quartz veins containing copper and
lead on which he had located for a
while, decided to pull up stakes.
Now "back east" city strain and the
f7life of travelling salesman wrought
it's havoc on B. M. Thomas of Chicago,
whose physician prescribed for him
an outdoor life, if nothing more, and
it happened that Mr.. Thomas whose
| life on the move would naturally seem
to point to prospecting, chose Mon
tana to recuperate in. BY chance he
met Rennie and they became fast
| friends As the acquaintance pro-
crossed, Rennie told his new
found friend of the claim he had left
near Libby To Thomas, one vein was
as good as another, so he decided to
stake his claim there. This took place
in the days when the Northern Pa
cific railroad could claim an empire
of 80 miles Of land on either side of
its land grants through -the west
provided the land had been classified
as non-mineral by the anything but
scientific commission which had made
the survey. Under this commission 5
survey the land had been classified as
non-ore bearing, but Thomas knew
| better and wished strictly disinter-
ested classification made, that there
might be no doubt as to his owners
ship.
| He appealed to the government at
Washington which sent out one OF
its most reliable biologists who saw
at a glance that the claim certainly
contained ore. Further. he noticed the
rocks were of an unusual kind. Being
naturally scientifically interested in
their composition, the geologist took
samples back to Washington, D c.,
| for analysis. There the government
chemists found, as was published in a
scientific journal, that some Of them
contained yanadium, little known
mineral in the west, valuable in the
process Of steel hardening. Through
this latter classification, Mr.. Thomas
gained unquestioned title to his claim
but he died before he could develop
the land and E. N. Alley Of Libby, 8
friend, became owner of his papers
and mineral rights.
With the outbreak Of the World
/ war, steel hardening minerals come
at premium. Mr. Alley recollectec
the mention in copy Of scientific
! journal, of vanadium near Rainy
creek, so he picked up his candle ant
/ proceeded to explore old mining tun
/ nels for ores Of that metal. Persist
ence and the gamblers instinct kept
Alley at his search several days with
out luck. He failed to find ore Of any
value in any Of the tunnels he entered
until the last day of Of his search. L
was growing dark and Alley had de
termined to return home calling him
self fool for going on wild goose
chase. There was one more tunnel
however, near the top Of the mountain
which he decided to explore to make
the job complete. II is an eerit
enough job to enter any sort of tun
mel, but to enter one iusk, jab one:
candle into the soft wall and then set
it apparently alive with crawling
things which seem to emanate from
the direction of the candle leaves al
indescribable feeling of horror.
Mr.. Alley, rooted to the spot, gradu
ally perceived that the worms
weren't worms, but that the heat