Year: 1873




attraction. If the needle goes down
strong to ninety degrees there is some.
thing underneath, either orc or magnetic
schIst, either Of which will attract the
needle. The best indication, however, Is
q surface outcrop. This outcrop Is gen.
orally a very thin vertical or slAntiDg
strata Of ore Wedged In between quartzltc
Jasper, greensboro, or some other lamins.
tons Of a rock character. Unless 1t Is
magnetic it will not attract the
needle, and the existence Of iron in
paying quantities has got to be proved
| by sinking test pits on either side Of the
outcrop. This Is, as I have said, q slow
and expensive business, and unless q man
has made up his mind to bleed in every
sense OF the word, both in the way oil
mosquitoes and expenses, he had better
refrain. Carrying on operations In the
trackless forests Of Lake Superior Is q diff
lerent business from carrying them on in
a settled country. You must go into
camp and then pack everything to that
camp on the backs Of men, because roads
are things unknown 10 this country and
even trails are scarce. Those who ex-
plore for iron ore carry their blankets and
Their provisions strapped upon their backs
The forests are streWn with windialls,
that is, fallen trees, and your journey is
over them, along them and under them,
and your progress therefore Is very slow
and painful. What makes It especially
painful Is the mosquitoes and the sand.
aes. These are worse than the locusts
and murrain Of Egypt combined. They
swarm about you incesSantly and sting
you on every exposed spot, even through
your hair. A man ought TO find gold
mine instead Of an ore mine to endure
this for q week. shall not at this time
enlarge upon the experience ofs gentle
man from Wheeling and myself Suffice
it that we arc posted on the musquito busl-
ness. This letter is already too long, and
personal "reminiscences can be omitted
until another time.


Let me say in conclusion, that no man
can 60 through the mines and forests Of
Lake Superior without realizing the mag
niLudc OF the wealth that is there concen-
trated in small and out Of the way strip
of our vast country. And tho develop
ment of this wealth has only fairly begun.
1t is only about year since It became
accessible by rail all the way from Chica'
90. What it will DO when that commu.
nicalion is perfected and other projected
lines are built, no man can ioretell. Up
to this time the people OF the interior
have suffered many inconvenience, some
Of which they still suffer on, account Of
the rigor of the climate and the want oil
roads. The snow lies five and six
feet deep for six months OF the year, and
the one railroad that now reaches the
mines is their only communication with
the world. Everything around them Is
snow and ice. Adventures in the woods
Journey on snow shoes. The miners wear
very thick woolen socks inside OF shoe.
packs or moccasiRs. With these and
with Mackinaw overcoats, with hoods TO
them, they worry along through the
winter but they all say that the winters
are too long. Atsuch places as Marquette,
Negaunee and lsbpeming the people can
enjoy themselves in social way, but at the
other mines the winter ID season Of iso
latIon. The officers of the mines reconcile
themselves TO tue situation by surrounding
themselves with as many ol the creature
comforts as possible. Their headquarters
are like monsstries to the pilgrims in Pal.
estIne where there are no hotels, places Of
entertainment. At the Spur Mountain
mine, the furthest west oil all the mines,
the officers have a very comfortable mess
and dispense an elegant hospitality. Da'
vid Morgan, Esq, Of Irondale, near Wells.
vile, Ohio, Is one Of the large owners in
this mine, as he Is also in the Republic,
two oI the best mines by the way in Lake
Superior, and we have enjoyed not only
his hospitality but q great deal Of his 80.
ciety during our sojourn here. BE has
made his Investments with good judg-
ment and is reaping his reward. But he
is only one Of good many men In Lake
Superior who have in the last few years
put in their thousands and can now take
out their tens Of thousands. To meet
with a good opportunity in life is luck, bat
to appreciate and embrace 1t Is wisdom.
The immortal Shakespeare has drawn the
contrast between those who take the tide
at the flood and those who take 1t at the
ebb, and his remarks apply with peculiar
point to such opportunities as have pre-
sented and still present themselves in this
great field Of investment and enterprise.


O.