Kansas Academy of Science. 15 



prises in particular, even now in progress, and which can hardly be considered other than 

 a case of "salting," that I desii-e to-day to call your attention, having been myself an 

 amused spectator of the undertaking. I refer to the "Otter Head Consolidated Tin Land 

 Pool" of the region north of Lake Superior. The marvelous accounts of this territory 

 report it as furnishing not only the sulphide of tin, (Sn S2 generally combined with sul- 

 phides of iron and copper,) which has hitherto been known only in Cornwall, England, 

 where it passes under the name of bell-metal ore, but in addition also an abundance of 

 the genuine Cassiterite — tin-stone (Sn O2) — in all its forms of hard, brown-black, glit- 

 tering octahedral crystals : before the blowpipe alone infusible, but readily yielding 

 globules of metallic tin when fused upon charcoal with a flux. The modifications of 

 Cassiterite are also said to be here afforded in their various botryoidal forms known as 

 "woud-tin" and "toad's eye," from its peculiarly concentric and radiated structure; and 

 last but most incredible part of the whole account, native or metallic tin, which 

 heretofore has been known only as an exceedingly rare native metal, found occa- 

 sionally in the gold washings of Boliva and in Siberia. Early in the past year an 

 elaborate article appeared in the New York Herald, giving an account of the supposed 

 discovery of these mines. It seems that some years ago, off the entrance to Thunder 

 Bay, on Lake Superior, the famous Silver Islet was discovered, which now, under the 

 direction of a large company, is yielding an immense profit. Stimulated by this discov- 

 ery, the whole north shore of tlie lake was soon covered by earnest explorers. As a por- 

 tion of the fruit of their investigations, gold in quartzose rock was said to have been 

 found in the region about Shenandowan Lake, though in consequence of an unsettled 

 dispute between the provinces of Manitoba and Ontario as to the right and title of the 

 land, the discovery was maintained a profound secret. A portion of this same party of 

 discoverers, operating in other directions toward the south and east, reported themselves 

 as finding, in the immediate vicinity of Otter Head, on the Canada shore, extensive veins 

 of dark-colored ore of a high specific gravity, specimens of which they brought with 

 them on returning. These specimens are filled with well-defined crystals of Cassiterite, 

 which may readily be detected with a glass of low magnifying power. Upon assay they 

 yield an abundance of metallic tin. It is said that the discoverers first supposed them to 

 be iron ores, on account of their dark color, but the assay failed to yield metallic iron in 

 sufticientquantity to account for their high specific gravity. A white metal was also pro- 

 duced as a part product of the assay, and was at first taken to be silver, as silver was the 

 metal they were seeking. A more critical examination, however, proved this product to 

 be metallic tin. 



This valuable metal being heretofore supposed to be an utter stranger upon this conti- 

 nent, this supposed discovery created, as might have been expected, much comment and 

 an unusual degree of interest. No more propitious a locality for such a venture, supposing 

 it to be a fraudulent one, could have been possibly conceived. Around the exact point 

 of the so-called discovery, at Otter Head, about midway between the canal of Sault Ste. 

 Marie and Thunder bay, the country is eminently wild, solitary and romantic. Heavy 

 granite cliffs rise from the shore of the lake to the height of a thousand feet. A few wan- 

 dering Chippewa Indians may he found in the district, but not a wliite man can be seen 

 within fifty miles of this point. From the extremely precipitous character of tlie terri- 

 tory, extensive inland travel is an utter impossibility; hence, much of the exploration 

 must be confined to the lake shore. Early in May, 1873, I received from the secretary 

 of the " Otter Head Tin Pool " a considerable quantity of the ore, accompanied by a 

 printed pamphlet embodying the report of the trustees of the company. The ore was 

 certainly of an unexceptionable character, dark-gray in color, and heavily charged with 

 crystals of Cassiterite. Much of it was in the condition called stream tin — a rich, fine 

 ore, produced by the washing action of running water. It yielded on a? say from fifteen 

 to tliirty-five per cent, of clean metal. This ore was also remarkably free from the inju- 



