Show axx FAMOUS MINING STRIKES ej by THOMAS E STEWARD axx 0 the story of calumet hecla HE famous calumet conglomerate THE tate in which the equally celebrated calumet amet and liebla mines were bunk 1112 to become the largest and richest copper property in the world and to told hold that rank for decades was wag discovered in by a man named edwin J ll ulbert II ulbert was a sun su beyor and it was a violent deflection of his surveyors needle that put him on the alert for mineral discoveries ills first find like that in the minnesota Mine ota sota was a huge block black of copper in a depression which lie he took tor for an ancient pit at his suggestion the lou tract was ban bought lit find the calumet mining company afterwards calumet and ilecia aag as formed this company produced tons of copper in the year 1872 2 only eight years after Hu II lberts find and in that cash dividends halberts hulberts Hul Hu borts lberts discovery of this rich mine through a deflection of the surveyors needle probably has caused many hundreds of men to waste lots of time looking tor for metallic ore by that method and it may have strengthened the erroneous beliefs of those who still think a hazel wand will locate precious metals it Is said to be a scientific fact that a surveyors surveyor s needle will fluctuate strongly when in the presence of very large masses of copper but it must be borne in wind mind that no other such mass of pure copper as that of the calumet and ilecia has ever been found in the history of the world much of the richest of this mines copper has been estr extracted acted and it Is now depending on much leaner ores and Is washing old dumps dump s and copper bearing sands that were dumped into lake superior improved mining methods in the copper country soon cut the cost of potting getting out the copper and added to the profits As an example of the hardships of 0 early day mining it Is related that nhen the huron mining company decided to introduce steam power in one of its shafts it tool took ten days to move the equipment up the low hill in which the shaft cliatt descended rollers hollers blocks and tackle were used and the engine was pulled up by its own power one captain bennett was in it charge of the blocks suddenly bennett was seen to rush olt oft down hill swearing vigorously ya no one knew what was t th he matter with him until the steam engineer at the place whore bennett had been working work lii there lie found two of be I 1 cn xi metts fingers on the ground and knew what had been the matter with bennett |