Concerning the remarkable copper workings on Isle
Royale:
"In the year 1872
some of the most remarkable of the ancient works yet
encountered were brought to light by a party of
mining explorers on Isle Royale. The amount and
character of the work here revealed was something so
extraordinary as to almost exceed belief.
The works * * * are generally pits of from a few
feet to thirty feet n diameter; some being quite
shallow, while many reach a depth of from twenty to
sixty feet. They are scattered throughout the island
wherever the amygdaloid copper bearing rock is
found, and are invariably on the richest veins;
great intelligence being displayed in locating and
tracing the veins and in following them up when
interrupted. This has elicited the astonishment of
all who have witnessed it—no mistakes apparently
having been made in this respect. The excavations
are connected underground, drains being cut in the
rock to carry off the water. Stopes one hundred feet
in length are found. A drain sixty feet long
presented some interesting features: having been cut
through the surface drift into the rock, it had
evidently been covered for its entire length by
timbers felled and laid across. When opened the
timbers had mostly decayed, and the center portions
had sunk into the cavity, filling it for nearly its
entire length with rotted wood. The amount of mining
on three sections of land, at a point on the north
side of the island, is estimated to exceed that of
one of our oldest mines on the south shore of Lake
Superior, a mine that has been constantly worked
with a large force for over twenty years. * * *
At another point the excavations extend, in nearly a
continuous line, for more than two miles, the pits
being often so close together as to barely permit
their convenient working. Even the rocky islets off
the coast have not escaped observation, and where
bearing veins of copper are generally worked. But it
is probable that, including all the discoveries not
one tenth of the excavations have been disclosed."
Concerning usage of
copper by the American Aborigines:
"As a result of
scientific research and study much of the mystery
which has heretofore surrounded these people has now
been dispelled. The conclusion now almost
universally accepted among archeologists is that
there is no reason for attributing the working of
the copper deposits or fabrication of the implements
to any other people than the Indians. The early
explorers found both the northern and southern
tribes in this country using implements and
ornaments of native copper, often in common with
those of stone. From South America to as far
north as Canada almost every traveller refers to
this metal being in the possession of or employed by
the natives."
This 6" x 9-1/2", soft cover,
facsimile reprint contains:
112 pages and includes many illustrations and full-size
plates. $12.95
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Sample
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