Chapter 7

SILVER MINES NEAR THE SPRINGS

The tradition among the earliest settlers testified that the Indians claimed that silver and lead in unlimited quantities existed in caves and secret mines in the hills not far from the springs. The Indians became incensed at the whites, and, it is said, took every precaution for concealing from the pale faces this wealth. After the cruel murder of William Charles the Indians became sullen, shy, and reticent, and in a few years were all gone to the far West to seek new hunting grounds. They left the great secret of underground wealth a tradition of the past. About forty-five years ago the excitement was renewed, and raged for a time with a promise of success in locating the mines. Two strangers came into the community claiming to have secured from an old Indian woman in Canada the great secret. These men claimed that in tracing the tradition among the Indians who once inhabitied the country about the springs, they came across the aged squaw. She bore marks of great age, and claimed to be related to the warrior Tecumseh. After much persuasion, and not without being bribed, the woman told them that there was once a cave some two or three miles from the springs where the Indians got plenty of lead and silver in its natural state. The ore was so pure that the metal was chopped out with tomahawks and carried away.

This secret mine was concealed by the Indians. Before leaving the country they covered the mouth of the cave with a large stone, and then in turn with loose stone, completely hiding the entrance from the whites. These men, besides holding the tradition, claimed to have been received as above recited, carried rods or instruments for locating precious metal. They put up at Father Nathan Pinnick's home, and made this their chief stopping place during their stay in the community. They appeared very confident that the Indian tradition pointed east from the springs, probably on Father Pinnick's land, or on some adjoining tract. With their divinging rods they satisfied themselves that there was an abundance of silver in that locality and that by digging valuable discoveries would soon be made.

The excitement ran high, men hurriedly turned out and examined every cave and sink hole that might be an entrance to the Indian silver mine. One cave was found that led to high hopes as it resembled the traditional cave convered with a flat stone by the Indians. Men with picks, spades and sledge hammers toiled faithfully at this place. They examined carefully at this place for several days. They examined carefully all the ramifications of this hidden cave, but found no silver. Randolph Giles dug extensively in the ground at a point where the instruments carried by the experts had led to the opinion that the silver was not far from the surface. Mr. Giles found plenty of silver blossoms but no fruit. Two spots on Father Pinnick's land were marked, but the experts decided that it was deep down in the earth.

On the land of John Gresham adjoining Father Pinnick's land, it was not so deep and Mr. Gresham suck a hole in the limestone rock about twelve or fifteen feet deep revealing an abundance of ore that shone and sparkled in the rock as it was torn up by blasting. This ore resembled very strickingly the samples now exhibited by men who own shares of stock in silver, copper and zinc mines in Colorado and Arkansas. After many days' of hard work the prospectors began to get discouraged and finally went back to their farms and earn their bread by the sweat of their brow.

The strangers seemed astonished that the search had revealed no silver, and the leader ran short of change, borrowed a few dollars from Father Pinnick, with whom they had boarded. The strangers then departed to consult the Indian squaw. That squaw claimed to be the last survivor of the tribes that roamed these hills before civilization drove the redman to seek new hunting grounds in the wide west. The silver experts never returned, and the people ceased to hunt for silver mines of Indian tradition. My father-in-law gave me the lands on which the experts located silver and lead. I bought from John Gresham the land adjoining on which extensive digging had been done. My father sent down a well digger, and the hole was blasted several feet deeper with no further develpment except coal tar that ran out between the seams of the rock in considerable quantities in the hole some eighteen feet below the surface. I suspect that there is plenty of coal oil near the surface, and would be glad to see the drill sent down a few hundred feet at that place. It would not cost much and might reveal great wealth. I close the chapter on silver mining, and await the development of the oil well growing out of my labor in writing this chapter.