Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 137, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1918 — LOST FORTUNES OF OZARK MOUNTAINS [ARTICLE]

LOST FORTUNES OF OZARK MOUNTAINS

MISSOURI HIDES MANY RICH DEPOSITS OF METAL Thousands of Dollars in Ore Have Been taken From Veins Carefully Concealed by Owners. St. Louis, Mo.—Missouri tradition is replete with stories of “lost” mines, hidden treasures of siliVer, copper and other metals, but there is one "lost’ 1 mine in the state, the existence of which has been partly verified. It has bee n the object of search more than fifty years since its disgruntled operator ‘buried” it to prevent it from passing out of his possession. In the search of fifty years hundreds of prQspectora have '•gophered” its supposed whereabouts and thousands of dollars have been spent in frying to reclaim it, but it remains concealed. The mine is known as the Old Slater Mine and is supposed to be situated on the Jack’s Fork branch of the Current river, near Eminence, : the county seat of Shannon county. Years of litigation have been responsible to some extent for the lack of more exhaustive search, but this has been settled, and J. W. McClellan, a former state legislator has begun the search anew. The history of the lost mine dates from pre-Civil war days before the creation by the legislature of Shannon county. The story of the lost mine has been retold so often by the ord settlers of the Current river hills that several versions have been evolved from the original facts. However divergent the stories, the fact that the mine once produced copper in paying quantities to the sum of more than SIOO,OOO is history. As the story is related, Joseph Slater, an Englishman and a practical miner, explored the Current river in 1830, and some time thereafter a short distance from Eminence discovered rich veins of copper ore. He immediately Sunk a shaft and set up a mill, operated by water power. His employes numbered six. Slater shipped his ore overland to the Iron Mountain railroad, some sixty miles distant, or floated it down the. Current river and the Mississippi to New Orleans. About 250 square miles of land em braced by Shannon county were re serted by the government as “copper lands.” Slater is known to have been operating his mine- at the time the land was thrown open to entry. The story is that one of the Chiltons—pioneers of southeastern Missouri —went to the land office and filed on the land which embraced Slater’s mine. Slater heard of Chilton’s plan and hurried off in pursuit. Realizing that Chilton’s advantage could not be overcome, Slater returned and ordered his employes to “bury” the mine. The shaft was filled with debris and the veins, said to have run near the surface, were covered with sod and trees. The employes are said to have taken oath that they would never reveal the location of the ore deposits. His mine “lost,” Slater awaited Chilton’s action. The fight for possession of lhe property followed and this litigation continued several years, when Sial er died. It was during the Civil war that fate came near removing Chilton as an obstacle in Slater’s path. Bands of guerrillas overran the country, stealing and murdering. They had destroyed the town of Eminence and were moving in the direction of Chilton’s farm. The latter saw them coming and tried to flee on horseback, but was detected. He was pursued into a dense forest, and there he abandoned his horse and concealed himself in an iwy-coyered tree. From his place of concealment he could hear the bandits planning his murder, but they failed to find him and gave up the search. That tree which saved Chilton from death still stands on the Chilton estate. With the death of Slater an attempt was made to obtain from his former employes the secrets of the mine’s location, but persuasion failed. The old prospectors Used the “divining rod” and later mining engineers were sent to Eminence to make-reports on the old mine. All agreed that there was evidence of abundant quantities of ore. The old settlers of the Ozarks clung long to the belief that precious metals could be found in paying quantities. They cherished the traditions that the Indians and Spaniards mined silver and concealed the sources. Mysterious markings on the rocks were carefully preserved in the confidence that they indicated the neighborhood of silver ore.