SILVER ISLAND.

Grey River Argus, Volume XI, Issue 984, 21 September 1871, Page 2

SILVER ISLAND.

[dbtriot "'Tsavxii, august 13.]

The magnifiqent . vision of Eastern romancers are equalled by the realities of Silverfsiand, a desolate frpjck spine 7oft or 80ft square, projecting from the stormy waters of Lake Superior. Withiji r the breast of this rocky point in our great inland ocean are buried untold treasures, which for ages have laid hidden from, the eyes of. man, but which have been revealed to this prying 19th century, and which: seem destined to prove indead a :»mine> of -wealth to the V; OTiapafty ; now owning the section, of which'Giptain E. B. Ward, of this city, is the manager. Silver Island lies some 300 feet away from the Canadian shore of Lake Superior, in Thunder Bay, : aiia ; uufir recently was regarded merely as > a danger to navigation, an object to be scrupuously avoided. Now, it is known that the rocks of the Island and its <vicinity.r are rich in the . silver, and arrangements, have been made for mining in them as far as the mainland, if found desir^ble. r 'The island is 'bo low and such a mere speck inth,elake, that in a sea the waves were w^ont to Wash entirely over it, rendering it altogether uninhabitable, and presenting great difficulties in the way oi ! 'opening a vein.. It became' necessary that breakwaters* hould be built, all about it, and large expenses incurred before the location could* be worked at all. The present 'company bought the property from a Montreal company last August, ; and commenced building breakwaters September Ist. Before the close of navigation they had com-. pleted their erection 1 and T bad 'nlined twenty-two days, sending to the smelting works in New Jersey some SijOOOdou worth of o) c, Operations have since been continued, and there are' now on their way from Lake Superior to this, pty some 200 barrels' of rock filled with treasure. Yesterday a number of specimens . were -at the office .of. Captain Ward, all rich, and the silver glistening in the. sun, suggesting- brilliant visions of wealth. One huge piece oi rock weighed 20001 b and so rich in silver were its veins that it was estimated it would yield between 5000dol and 6000dol in value. Many specimens have already been tested, and the. results have ; pawed eminently satisfactpry. : It is thooghLthe ore as a rule will not. average less in its yield: than;from ISOOdol^ ta 2000dol per ton, and at this rate it would prove immensely remunerative; 'Smelting- works have been built at Wyandotte,. which are now nearly rea,dy to go into operation, arid, it is designed that the smelting shall be carried on there. The company has sold a. small, amount of stock, and wb believe it was originally intended to put ; a. more-large amount into the market|but the design has apparently been abandoned on account of the richness of the mine, and the present stockholders,- it is understood, propose to carry on the whole : work themselves and to reap the entire harvest. They, of course, 5 incur heavy expenses at the outset, as the cost^ of the breakwater "was ' 80,0wdol, "ahd r the smelting works cost lOOjOOOdot inorer £ f: 5^ ; < ; i' 5 The great source of pefqianeril expense to the companies in the Far Westfabrk* ing the silver mines .has been^6% deep mining which they have* been ' compelled to undertake, andj t^eir expenses have undoubtedly been increased by the inaccessibility of their situation and the extreme cost of freight. The latter objections do not apply in the present case, and there will be, at present at least, no such deep mining. The mines are now boring and blasting, comparatively athort distance below the surface, and, though they will deepen the passage as they go forward with. the mine, it is thought that iio very debp work will be required, even in getting beneath the surface of the lake and working towards the main land, some 3000£t distance,.. AH indkatiotu point tq the great success, of the enterprise, and incline to the belief that, the recentiaddition to the ' mineral wealth of Etjk» Superior, is one of the most brilliant discoveries that have been made in mavellous region.. ... ■•■-■■-. ■■ .. ■■-■■■-:•. ; -i- :