i6 CHARLES HIGGINS 



ores, in coal and salt and minerals, every year, suffices to form 

 pyramids besides which those of Egypt would fade into insig- 

 nificance. The census for the last decade shows that, during 

 the last year of the ten, this great army of underground labor- 

 ers added to the world's stores something more than two hun- 

 dred and twenty eight million tons of coal; eighty million tons 

 of iron ore; copper ore that, when reduced, yielded more than 

 two hundred and ninety thousand tons of copper, two hundred 

 and seven thousand tons of lead, and nearly a hundred and 

 thirty thousand tons of zinc. In addition the salt yield from 

 the country's mines was two and one half million tons. 



The gold mines gave up to the insistent and tireless work- 

 ers ore that yielded $70,096,021 worth of gold bullion and the 

 silver mines yielded ore that gave $34,036,108. 



In addition to all this the yield of cinnabar, nickel, cobalt, 

 antimony, platinum, gypsum, sulphur, and other products 

 made a showing that was tremendous in its magnitude. 



How great an increase these figures represent over those 

 of a few years ago is seen clearly by a comparison of the output 

 of the mines to-day and*that of a few j'^ears ago. In 1850 the 

 output of the country was seven and one quarter million tons 

 of coal, less than a million tons of pig iron, thirty six thousand 

 tons of lead, and six hundred and fifty tons of copper. 



At the present time nearly one half of the w^orld's supply 

 of steel is contributed by the mines in this country, a quarter 

 of the world's supply of gold comes from the mines in the 

 United States, more than one half of the world's copper and 

 at least one fourth of the world's zinc and lead is supplied from 

 mines here. In the production of zinc the country is second 

 to Germany only, while Australasia and South Africa, by 

 narrow margins, however, exceed this country in the output 

 of gold. 



And this condition is all the more marvelous when it is 

 remembered that the mines in this country have all been 

 developed and worked within the last fifty years. It was not 

 until 1860 that the first important silver mme was opened, 

 and this mine began operations only ten years after the open- 

 ing of the gold fields of California. 



