MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS. 



13 



MICHIGAN'S 



COPPER MINES 



James 13. Cooper, since January, 1891, super- 

 intendent of the Calumet Smelting Works, 

 has made a study since 1877 of the copper 

 industry, so far as it relates to smelting and 

 refining. He has made personally and had 

 made under his supervision, numerous analy- 

 ses and tests, chemical, microscopic and phy- 

 sical, of all grades and qualities of refined 

 copper, and of hrasses and other alloys of 

 which it is a component part. 



Mr. Cooper says regarding the various 

 grades of copper and their relative value: "The 

 us e of lake copper is not essential for any 

 purpose known to me, and, while its superi- 

 ority enables it to command a slightly higher 

 price in the market, the difference in price 

 in its favor is measured by the. economy re- 

 sulting from its use." Should the difference 

 exceed the limit just fixed, other kinds of 

 copper could and would be substituted. Should 

 any combination controlling the entire pro- 

 duction of lake copper, as compared with elec- 

 trolytic, it would result in the substitution of 

 the latter for the former, and this substitu- 

 tion could be made in all the arts and indus- 

 tries using the metal by the use of a slightly 

 larger quantity, or, in some instances, either 

 by greater care and skill in the working 

 thereof or by additional care in the refining 

 of copper. 



"I have for a long time, however, known 

 from personal observation and from the prod- 

 uct itself that the copper sold and marketed 

 as Osceola copper is made up of the product 

 of said two lodes, together with a large pro- 

 portion of western copper from the mines of 

 Montana, amounting to from 40 per cent to 

 50 per cent, and the same being mixed and 

 smelted together at the Lake Superior Smelt- 

 ing Works, Dollar Bay, Michigan. That, in 

 addition to the production of the Calumet 

 ft Hecla, the Osceola and the Tamarack, the 

 following Michigan mines produce lake cop- 

 per of a grade and quality adapted to and 

 desirable for the making of cartridge metal, 

 fulfilling all of the requirements of the United 

 States government, namely: 



Annual Conduc- 



Production, tivity, 



Mines. Lb=. Pet. 



Wolverine 10,000,000 91 



Franklin 4,500,000 100 



Quincy 18,000,000 101 



Michigan 2,000,000 101 



Mass 3,000,000 101 



Adventure 2,000,000 101 



Victoria 850,000 93 



."This is a total approximate annual produc- 

 tion, aside from tnat of the Calumet & Hecla, 

 the Osceola and the Tamarack, of 39,500,000 

 pounds, any of which is entirely adapted for 

 use for cartridge metal of the government 

 standard. It is also true that with the use 

 of a higher grade of zinc any lake copper 

 could be used with the same resulting product, 

 and that with proper care and methods. For 

 these reasons lake copper itself cannot com- 

 mand, nor could any control or monopoliza- 

 tion of that product enable it to command 

 any higher prices as compared with the world's 

 production of copper, than such as naturally 

 results as a matter of economy only. 



"The material used for the manufacture of 

 cartridge cases is a brass composed of copper 

 and zinc in the proportion of approximately 

 two to one. The product of the Calumet & 

 Hecla is of such grade and quality as to be 

 desirable for that purpose. In the making 

 of cartridge metal of the standard required 

 . by the government of the United States, there 

 is an economy in the use of the best quality 

 of copper, for the reason that therewith there 

 can be used an inferior and cheaper quality 

 of zinc. Any lake copper, however, having 

 a conductivity of 90 per cent or over may 

 be successfully used in the manufacture of 

 cartridge metal conforming to the government 



requirements. There are many mines pro- 

 ducing lake copper of this grade or better 

 each to an extent many times the total needs 

 of the government. 



"The product of the Osceola is derived from 

 two distinct lodes that from the Osceola lode, 

 which produces copper having a conductivity 

 of about 100 per cent, and that from the Kear- 

 sarge lode, producing copper having a con- 

 ductivity of about 91 per cent, all of which 

 product is known as Osceola in refining, and 

 within the limit of commercial economy any 

 copper produced in the United States can be 

 made to conform to the requirements for such 

 cartridge metal. 



"Much cartridge metal used by the govern- 

 ment of the United States is furnished to it 

 in the form of the brass compound used for 

 that purpose, manufactured by private con- 

 cerns. The war department, in ordering or 

 contracting for such cartridge metal, does not 

 limit the manufacturers thereof in the choice 

 of the materials to be used, but calls for or 

 specifies brass of certain kinds and of a qual- 

 ity to meet certain conditions and tests, and 

 thus in the filling of such orders or contracts 

 the manufacturers are at liberty to use in the 

 making thereof any kind of copper that will 

 produce a brass of a requisite standard." 



SUMMER LOGGING. 



The Ontonagon Lumber & Cedar Company 

 is making preparations to begin extensive log- 

 ging operations on section three, which lies 

 just southwest of Ontonagon. The company's 

 tract consists of about 6,000,000 feet of mixed 

 timber, largely hemlock, and in addition to 

 this John Hawley and D. J. Norton own about 

 the same amount of timber in that locality, 

 which will be cut after the company's job is 

 completed. 



The logs will be handled by rail. The tract 

 will be tapped by a spur which will be pushed 

 south from the main line at a point about two 

 miles up the lake shore from Ontonagon. 



It is the purpose of the company to save 

 the hemlock bark, doing the peeling after the 

 logs have been brought to the dumping 

 ground at the mill. 



In the woods operations the coming sum- 

 mer one camp will be operated and from 75 

 to 100 men will be employed. 



The OntonaRon Lumber & Cedar Com- 

 pany's mill is all ready to go into commission. 

 It has been given a thorough overhauling, and 

 it will have a busy season. Operations will 

 not be started until it is considered safe to be- 

 ; gin sorting logs, however. There is a big 

 stock of logs on hand, and the mill will be 

 kept humming until late in the fall. 



James Bowls' mill at Ontonagon has started. 

 | Mr. Bowls has a good stock of logs, and with 

 ] the custom sawing the plant will be kept busy 

 : until fall. 



Excellent progress is being made on the 

 drives. The high water has materially aided 

 in the work, and before it subsides the greater 

 portion of the logs will have been run into the 

 boom at Ontonagon. E. J. Humphrey has 

 finished on the Nester logs. D. J. Norton is 

 making things hum with his big consignment, 

 and the others are making good progress. 

 Also the Firesteel drive is finished. 



LUMBER CAMPS BURNED. 

 Frank Buell, of Bay City, who is operating 

 several logging camps north, says that there 

 has been a good deal of fire in the woods, but 

 a heavy rain extinguished the fires. He had 

 two sets of camps burned and also lost $1,000 

 | worth of cedar, his total loss being about 

 $2,500. 



He has 100 men peeling bark, and expects to 

 | peel 5,000 cords. Hemlock bark is worth $7 

 a cord or $1 a cord more than last year. 

 Help is scarce and he took men from the 

 two burned camps and set them at work peel- 

 ing bark. 



H'-lp is exceptionally scarce all through the 

 lumbering districts north as well as south of 

 the straits. Operations in the woods are con- 

 siderably handicapped by reason of inability 



to get men for logging, cedar operations or 

 mill work. Wages were never higher in the 

 lumber woods 



ECUADOR PRESENTS OPPORTUNITIES. 



The American minister to Ecuador describes 

 it as a rich country where plenty of opportun- 

 ity exists for the establishment of industries 

 by foreigners. 



Some which would give results arc banana 

 planting on the coast, where land ami Mi or are 

 cheap, the crop finding a ready market; lard 

 refining, cotton and woollen mills, cement 

 works to supply public construction and rail- 

 road building, furniture factories, china and 

 glass works, distilleries and canning and pre- 

 serving factories. 



All these industries would find the neces- 

 sary elements, raw material of the best quality 

 and cheap labor. For cement the country pro- 

 vides all the materials, also for china and glass- 

 ware; for shoes, fine leather and hides; for 

 furniture, a great variety of useful and precious 

 woods. There is enough land on the coast 

 available to supply the banana market of the 

 world. 



Quito, the chief city, is at the foot of a 

 mountain which rises to a height of 16,000 

 feet. Quito itself is 9,600 feet above sea level. 



The thermometer scarcely ever rises above 

 70 degrees or sinks below 50. The mornings 

 and evenings are cool, the middle of the day 

 warm. It is never hot, never cold a perpetual 

 early spring. 



Consumption and pulmonary diseases are 

 practically unknown, '"hiito seems to be a 

 cure. The days and nights are of twelve hours 

 duration the year round. - The difference be- 

 tween sun and shade is 10 degrees. This dif- 

 ference is felt at once by moving from sun to 

 shade or vice versa. 



A journey of four hours from the city will 

 place the traveler in the region of eternal 

 frost, or in the space of half a day he can de- 

 scend to the deep and sultry valleys which 

 separate the mighty chains of the Andes. 



This variation of temperature, depending 

 upon elevation and occurring between narrow 

 limits, furnishes a daily and diversified supply 

 of vegetable food, from the banana, pineapple, 

 orange and plantain, to wheat, corn, potatoes, 

 cabbages, salads, apples, pears, grapes and 

 strawberries. 



Hens lay so persistently that medicine has 

 to be given to them to save their lives. 



As the climate is cool and the houses un- 

 heated, daily and frequent .exercise on foot or 

 on horseback is absolutely necessary. On 

 leaving the city it is difficult to avoid the sun. 

 as trees are scarce; but sunstroke is unknown. 

 Mocquitoes, snakes, scorpions, tarantulas and 

 rats are unheard of. There are no bugs or 

 beetles. 



The flora of Quito is beautiful and inex- 

 haustible. Roses bloom all the year round; 

 wild flowers cover the sides of courtyards and 

 ruins; tulips, orchids, pinks and lilies bloom 

 winter and summer, and geraniums run riot 

 over walls and roofs. 



Ecuador is a sound money country, has 

 never issued paper money and has no foreign 

 debt. 



Ecuador is the principal producer of cocoa 

 and ivory nuts in the world. On the coast, 

 coffee, rubber, bananas, sugar cane, rice, cot- 

 ton and tobacco grow luxuriantly. Upon the 

 plateaux of the high districts are produced 

 wheat, corn, oats beans, potatoes and all the 

 principal cereals of the temperate zone. This 

 section also supplies, cattle, horses, sheep and 

 pigs. There is abundant pasture all the year. 



The Belding-Hall Company, of Bcltliiii;, 

 has purchased the Bundy Hills and have 

 olaced 1,300 sheep there. Years ago when 

 Mecosta county was a verdant forest, the pine 

 trees on Bundy Hills could be seen as far 

 away as Mount Pleasant. After Dudley Fos- 

 ter had cleared away the timber for the Hood- 

 Gale Company, the land was considered prac- 

 tically useless for any tiling until the Belding- 

 Hall Company conceived the idea of convert- 

 ing it into a sheep ranch. 



