Year: 1870

A Whole Island OF Silver on the North


Shore OF Lake SuPeriOr-MiIIIOnsB Be-


ing Taken Out-The Most Remarka-


bic Discovery of the Age.


We have before alluded to the Silver Is
land of the north shore of Lake Superior
IN the British possessions Just below
Thunder Cape, and some fifteen miles be-
yond Ft. William. The island is quite
small in dimensions-say 100 feet by 40
and the most of it is submerged at high
water-a small part at one end is is about
eight feet above the lake level This is
land was entered by the Montreal Mining
Company as a tract embracing 10000
| acres, and was subsequently purchased of
them by Capt. w. B. Frew formerly of
Portage lake, and superintendent of the
South Pewabic copper mine) for himself
and associates, including among them Ma
Jor Sibley, of New York, a brother, we
think, Of Gen. Sibley of st. Paul.


The Montreal Mining Company first
made the discovery that the island con-
tanned silver, and by their agents sunk a
shaft on the island, but they knew moth
ing about mining, and the water coming
IN upon them, further working of their
mine was abandoned as useless. 1t was
only last summer that Capt F. and his
company completed their bargain with
the Montreal company for the island, and
ecured 1t by paying or agreeing to pay
$25O,O00 for the entire los, 900 acres
They went Immediately to work at i'm
proving the mine. Their first step was to
surround the island with cribs of timber,
filled with stone, to serve as a breakwater
and ice-breaker, and within these cribs a
cofferdam was built, and filed with clay,
having the effect of making the whole in
terror of the island nearly water tight, at
least from the intrusion Of the lake. The
next step was to set up Two large syphon
pumps worked by steam, by which the in
side was pumped dry, or nearly so, and it
has since been found that very little
working of the pumps daily keeps the land
clear of water entirely.


Then they went to work laying bare the
vein, and now have exposed seventy feet
in length, and find it to be true fssure
vein, of silver matrix being calcareous
spar with some little quartz intermixed.-
The vent Is eight feet wide. and eye-wit-
nesses from there state for one quarter of
this width it will average seventy per
cent of pure silver. On the first trial, af-
ter the water was gotten out, six men
took out $S5, 900 worth of silver in four
days, and up to the latest accounts the
working has continued at about this rate
Already 123 barrels of native silver, said
to be worth IS to 100000, have been
shipped. The yield of the mine, compu-
ted by the ton, is not less than dollar to
the pound. The mine employs now about
forty men, and the company will increase
their force immediately


The royalty" paid on this to the Eng
lish government is quite small-not ex-
ceeding one-twentieth Eye witnesses of
intelligence judgment and experience re-
port that Capt. Frew will probably take
out of silver, up to the opening of navi
cation next spring, from to $3,000,00o
money value


The steamer Meteor conveyed down
the lakes on her trip before last, sixty
two barrels of silver. This silver island is
no humbug, but an actual bona fde af-
fair, in which the most wonderful results
have already been obtained, and all bids
fair to make it yield and richness the
most remarkable mining discov-
cry in this country for many years. Some
masses of silver went down on
the Meteor larger than a man could lift
A part of the island vein, say one of the
eight feet IN width, is wonderfully rich,
and it is from this portion that the large
silver masses are extracted Other rich
mines of silver are reported as having
been found on the main north shore in the
range of the silver island, and Capt. Hod-
son of Portage lake, has gone east to or
ganize company to work them-D1slatth
Mi1nesotiG9l