THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 53 



But the best hopes for the New Ontario are no doubt built upon 

 its mineral wealth, the extent and value of which we are only begin- 

 ning to realize. The rocks of the Huronian and Cambrian systems 

 are found to be mineral-bearing over a wide extent ; and from the 

 number of discoveries made every year in new and unexpected local- 

 ities, we have an assurance that as yet only a httle of this hidden 

 treasure has come to be known. In the Animikie slates of the Cam- 

 brian system silver mines have been worked at points far apart, some 

 of which have proved to be very rich. Silver Islet alone has yielded 

 upwards of $3,000,000. In the Nipigon rocks of the same system 

 native copper and copper sulphide have been discovered at many 

 places, but notably on Michipicoten island and point Mamanise, where 

 the occurrences are the same as on Keweenaw point on the south 

 shore. But too much ot the exploratory work hitherto has been 

 extravagantly done, both on the island and the mainland. As an 

 illustration, it may be stated that the Quebec Mining Company in 

 1848-50 expended at Point of Mines $232,256, chiefly above ground, 

 before any quantity of ore was raised on the lodes were proved lo 

 be valuable. A village of fifty or sixty houses was built for miners 

 and other employes, besides offices, stores, magazines and a sawmill. 

 Inspector William Gibbard, who visited the location in i860, reported 

 that he found smelting works, crushing mills, jigging works, stamp 

 forges, railroads, hundreds of yards of iron chain, ladders, furnaces, 

 scows, etc., in a dilapidated state, thousands of fire brick, and an 

 expensive conduit about one mile long made to convey water to the 

 stamps.* This was an expenditure preparatory to mining, before 

 it had been proven that there was more than a surface show of ore ; 

 and the capital being thus wasted the company was left without means 

 to carry on the actual work of mining or establish the value of their 

 property by sinking deep shafts upon the veins. f It is however in 



90. 



* Eeport of the Commissioner of Crown Lands of Canada for 1S60, p. 



f In 1767 and 1768 the east shore of lake Superior was explored by 

 Alexander Henry and copper was discovered at a number of points from 

 Mamainse headland to Michipicoten harbor, which was called by the Indians 

 the coast of Nanibojou. In the spring of 1768 Mr. Henry met Alexander 

 Baxter, liis partner, to whom he communicated the information of his dis- 

 coveries, and measures were taken for working the mines. In 1770 Mr. 

 Baxter returned from England, bringing with him papers by which, with Mr. 

 Bostwick and himself, Mr. Henry was constituted a joint agent and partner 



