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tilt)do*IfllO»tn-Aiidcal 311 nlhr Opernlfoiis in itie Lake Superioru^ifD.Prol. Clms. Whittloaoy roflil n jmpnr ho- till tom tlio AniLrieJUi Aniocinlinti lor tho ml-1 petho I ho Ire-thouti-ilurkm Incorr-03umynilvVt*»UtgJinm-iMrtHI-I'OIt-11-uts•v-Im:Uslit 1mKta h 01clutingnli I; UHixuanlpnto , halt; ing Jire Ion u iofIISIt)of111of1]r-11*v♦i-«‘H van commit of Science, on tho ancient ! duj '”. Mining Operations of Lake Superior leaAfter describing tlio geography of the Ft copper region of Lake Superior. lie said ho Hint throughout tho country indications at appeared of ruining operations curried on i ho by nil ancient peopto. Tlio work* of! tin dnr i thcso people were mure open mines like ! be lc ’ | lt;| names, iieviir descending more than j up (Jiirly fe»t below the surface. Those’ mines hail n peculiarity which distingniah-eil thorn from till others, that tlio metal was found in piiro masses. These massesHm ancient minors seemed to bo uniiblo todeal with, mid they appeared merely to have sought for pieces nl' copper perhaps el two lbs. weight, which they huinmorud out cold. They seemed te have known nothing uf the art bf smelting,’though rho discovery seemed tho simplest thing in th'u world, since they, made use of lire to soften tho stone, and. to separate tho our.—W here they got a large mass they used etime ha miners to break ell' the projections. | hey had no means of raising tiro very largo masses, nor hud they any way of cleaning out the water from tlio Lottom,It seem ml that the miners hud been accustomed constantly to throw hack the rubbish Into the initio, an that there worn now no traces on the surfueo. These works extended through one hundred or one hundred and fifty mines, on tho South snlo ot Lal:n Superior, Sometimes thoro wore cavities of thirty foot. nB largo as thut room; m other cases thoy mado excavations in tho tilutls, which woionmv occupied by porcupines, boars, c. Tho stone uiiumora employed were nothing but boulders id gruon stone or trap, having u groove reuiid them, into which a wytha was twisted, Some had no such groove, and the iiiodo of swinging thorn was tin-known. Wooden shovels woro ulso cm-jileyod, and spear heads with a socket.—I here wore, besides, tools like knives ami chisels, all mado of capper. Timbers h«d also been hmnd with batehut marks on them. 1’ rmn these marks ho judged that the people who worked these mines had aconnection with tho ancient Mexican* known us ioLecs or Aztecs. It appuurodfrom the works of .Sijuicr and l);ivis on the mounds of Ohio, that in those places ■t j there had been found tools which would have Hindu nmrks like those noticed «t tho timber homd in the Superior mining legion. Again, tho conduction between these inhabitants of Ohio, and tlio nil non, nl Lake .Superior, seemed to be established Iron, the fact that in the Lake Superior mines iihme wore lo he found pure copper, having specks of pure silver ill them.—Isow lfie tools found in Ohio were found in contain these specks of silver, and it was evident that these tools had been hammered out cold, because tf (|,ev find boon m..lteil tlm silver specks would’ have disop pound. Then the Spanish mi theirarrival hmnd the Mexicans in occupation of fortifications, mounds and pyramids very much like those of Ohio. In this wav it appeared to him that a connectionwas traced between tho people of Mexico and the minors of Lake Superior. He considered from a comparison of the trees iorined upon the tops of the trendies, and of tho extent ol the works, with tlio d.llieulties which the miners must have in working them, that it must have been 1-00 years since the mines were abandoned ami *g(J0 more) during which they worn occupied. Ilia impression was ciiat the miners resided in a warm country and came te work tbusu mines hi the sum*.It».itI.0lt;1dyini\v«I-O^Jpotl»]Ktilt!nl t i'm lioi mo it))tlio10 1 n Wl (hitwooOf J tlio to \ COll: to 1 tliohhua: to ih t!iiJailiovi•Soirtintl»L*Vt K tv'n Ia|ijImtam tn in t«hi i*riuIW u g-ii:wl.ioriiin:-— — T ’ r r r w w m w « IV n i ■ ■ ■ m «inor [inn*t taking Uiuir jmdiIuco liomu in tho wintui*.lt;\ gentleman motif Joned the fact of his jiliving discovered soiiio remains of mining below u tree having 4b« annua! concentricI4 % ft ft d m ■%rmys.T«n Ricks most a Housi:.—JudgeBurk**, ot tHi(h Uarolinru vtnln Inmit hr* I in im!t 5^01 jnrm IAmlt;liiIjorj30 1IlIlMindlt;vo fSlinwothtHimtiiur
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Independent American
Platteville, Wisconsin, US
Fri, Oct 09, 1857
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