Show aborigines AND COPPER an aix interesting Mc discovery overy of tools in tl y copper mines A peninsula callei called keweenaw Keween aw point jutting into lake lahe superior from froin tho southern shore toward the northeast is famous as the center of a vast copper capper mini mining tip industry last year the th 1 mines produced no less than 5 pounds of refined copper and it is ert er echi t mated that during r the next year vc to production will be increased by n as least 10 per cent mr E H B hinsdale who contribute 0 to the latest bulletin of the america am erica a geographical society an article on toc t oc subject lia has much that is interest 1 1 r to say about the numerous 1 mines mine which have bave been found in region mcg ion lays ays the scientific american these ancient mines judging z fionn their extent must have been wor corid tod for centuries who the workers worker WOM no one can toll tell they seemed to hac known nothing t of the smelting smelling sm elting of copper for there are no traces of molten copper what they sought were pieces that hat could be fashioned by cold hamb mering into useful articles and ornaments they understood the use of fire in softening the rocks to enable them to break away the rock roch from thu tho masses of copper they could not drill but used the stone hammer freely more than ten carloads of stone hammers were found in the neighborhood 0 of the minnesota mine in one place the excavation was about afif fifty ty feet deep and at the bottom were found timbers forming a scalY 0 end and a large larg e sheet of copper was discovered there in another place in one of the old pits was found a mass of copper weighing 0 hing forty six tons at another place the excavation was twenty six feet deep in another opening m at the depth of ci cig 0 lateen feet a mass of copper weighing in over six six tons was found raised 0 about five feet from its native bed by the ancients and secured on oaken props every projecting point had been taken off so fo that thai the exposed surface was smooth whoever the workers may havo have been many centuries must have passed since their mines minas abandoned the trenches and opening s have been fiffles up or nearly so I 1 monstrous trees have leavo grown over their work and falleti fallen to decay other generations of trees springing up tip when tho the mines were rediscovered decayed trunks of larg largo o trees treas were lying over tho the works while vidle a heavy heary growth of livo live timber on the alio ground A ay iy Y alp k 1 |