The Book of the Fair - Chapter 16



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Chapter the Sixteenth:
Mines, Mining, and Metallurgy

Passing from the main railway terminus, the visitor observes on his left a 
building of elaborate design, the purpose of which is indicated by the 
single work inscribed above its portal. In this, the hall of Mines and 
Mining, its architect, S. S. Beman, of Chicago, has departed somewhat from 
conventional types, displaying, without any detraction from his harmony of 
plan, an adaptation of structural forms to practical uses in perfect 
keeping with what may be termed the sentiment of his composition. Fronting 
on the main court opposite the great hall of Machinery; flanked on one 
side by its sister edifice devoted to the Electrical department; on 
another by the Transportation pavilion, and with the graceful lines of the 
Administration building giving further emphasis to this imposing group, 
Mr. Beman was thus favored with one of the choicest sites in the 
Exposition grounds, and to the best advantage has he improved his 
opportunity. 

First of all it may be observed that in studying his design the artificer 
must prepare for the housing of a large and bulky display of ores and 
minerals, of mining and metallurgical machinery and appliances, many of 
them requiring a liberal proportion of floor room and height. Hence, in 
this building, and especially in its central nave, it was necessary to 
avoid, as far as possible, all columnar obstructions, leaving unencumbered 
the greatest available area for the reception of exhibits. Of the space at 
his disposal, including with galleries somewhat less than nine acres, a 
large portion was devoted to a nave 630 feet long, in its centre a 
circular court from which the main avenues radiate, and where is a design 
typical of mining industries. In all this spacious nave there are only 
sixteen pillars, eight on either side, and on which rests the system of 
cantilever trusses that support a lowered roof, fashioned largely of 
glass, and at its highest point nearly 100 feet from the floor. The 
aisles, which divide the building into four main sections, are similarly 
treated, and with their columns anchored against the inner rows. Thus is 
relieved the comparative depression of the curtain walls, whose height 
from ground to cornice is little more than sixty feet. 

A further accentuation is given by the principal entrances, one in the 
centre of each of the four sides, those on the north and south 80 feet 
wide, with richly decorated cornices, and flanked by pilasters, on which 
rest banner staves, their flags imparting to the outline somewhat of a 
holiday appearance, and modifying the serious aspect of the design. Around 
all the entrances are monuments, designs, and figures in keeping with the 
exhibits contained within. At the corners are square pavilions, lighted by 
arched windows on either face, and with low domical roofs crowned with 
circular lanterns. Between these pavilions and the main portals are 
piazzas 25 feet wide, with coffered ceilings, and from which there is 
access to the interior at several points. From either side of the entrance-
halls broad stairways lead to windowed galleries, 60 feet wide, and 
affording an additional floor space of more than 100,000 square feet. 
Thence, from numerous openings, the visitor may step forth into recessed 
balconies, from portions of which is an excellent view of the structures 
and grounds adjacent. 

In the elaboration of his design the architect has not adopted any special 
order of architecture, for in doing so he could not have given to his 
scheme an architectural expression in conformity with the character of the 
exhibits. The facades are of modern style; the roof planned somewhat after 
the fashion of those which cover the car-building sheds of the Pullman 
company. Elsewhere, and especially in the entablatures, are traces 

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of Italian detail, mingled with that of the French renaissance, while in 
the loggias and balconies the treatment savors of the Doric and the 
earlier Romanesque. Finally it may be said that, whether from an 
architectural or utilitarian point of view, the hall of Mines and Mining 
does not suffer by comparison with its more imposing neighbors. 

As with the Fisheries and several other departments, this is the first of 
our great world's fairs at which mining has been placed on an equality 
with manufactures, agriculture, and all the more prominent industrial 
pursuits, and its exhibits ranked on a par with any, and housed in a 
building of their own. At the London and Paris expositions all such 
specimens were classed in a single group, to which was granted but a 
meagre allotment of space; and even at our own Centennial Exposition they 
were pushed aside into an annex of the industrial edifice. Here, however, 
due prominence is given to an industry which in value of production ranks 
third among those of the United States, many of its branches, before 
incorporated in other divisions, for the first time receiving in their 
proper place a fitting and adequate representation. 

Says the chief of this department, referring to the scope and character of 
the exhibits: "They will cover the entire range of the mineral kingdom. 
They will include minerals of every kind, ores, native metals, gems, and 
crystals; geological specimens; coal, coke, petroleum, natural gas, 
building stones, and quarry products; graphite, limestone, cement, and 
artificial stone; salts, sulphur, fertilizers, and mineral waters; the 
long catalogue of iron and steel, and of tin, and the new metal, aluminum; 
the extraction of gold, silver, and lead by various methods; mining 
machinery, tools, and appliances; literature, models, and reproductions. 
When we consider the wealth represented by the quarries of New York and 
the New England states, the coal and iron of the Alleghanies, the 
phosphates of Florida and the Gulf, the oil and gas of Pennsylvania and 
Ohio, the copper of Lake Superior and the tin of the Black Hills, the 
silver and lead of the Rocky mountains and the gold of California; with 
the immense manufacturing interests connected with the production and 
manipulation of our country's vast mineral wealth, remembering that there 
come into competition with her all countries and quarters of the globe, 
the varied and exceptional character of the mines and mining display will 
be appreciated." 

On entering the hall which contains these exhibits, the first question the 
visitor asks himself is "How did they get here? How were these mammoth 
specimens collected and transported from every quarter to be placed in 
congruous and symmetrical groups under the roof of a single edifice?" 
Perhaps in no time or place but the present could they have been got 
together; for years of persistent solicitation and careful planning were 
required before the bulky articles were rolled 

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on cars to the principal entrance way, to be lifted by cranes and moved on 
trucks into position. From the spacious central nave, sometimes termed 
Bullion boulevard, extend eastward the state and territorial pavilions or 
structural facades in metals or minerals, beyond which is the mining 
machinery; while to the west our foreign friends show what their several 
countries can produce. Among United States exhibits Montana's silver 
statue, Pennsylvania's needle of anthracite coal, and the geological 
obelisk of the empire state attract much attention. Among those of other 
lands may here be mentioned the elaborate collections of Germany, Mexico, 
Canada, and New South Wales, and the diamonds which in the spectator's 
presence are washed by Kaffirs out of the blue earth imported from 
Kimberley mines. 

On the gallery floor the largest of the individual exhibits are those of 
the Standard Oil company, and the Frick Coke company, the former 
displaying the several methods used in the production and distribution of 
oil, and the latter a model of their plant. Of scientific interest are the 
metallurgical displays arranged by the chief of the Mining department, and 
the collections of the Ward Natural Science establishment. In a series of 
courts are arranged in related groups all mineral substances of 
industrial, economic, or scientific value, with an assaying department in 
actual operation. Nor should mention be omitted of the library, catalogued 
for public use, and containing histories and statistics of mines and 
mining districts, with numerous charts and diagrams, together with maps 
and models illustrating the geological formation and distribution of 
mineral veins, and the modes by which they are worked. To the mining 
engineer or surveyor the collection is especially valuable, for here are 
treatises on every branch of his profession, including among others the 
location of shafts 

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and tunnels, their sinking or boring and timbering, the sloping and 
hoisting of ore, and the drainage, lighting, and ventilation of mines. 
Finally, the visitor may compare the present with ancient methods, for 
there are some of the earliest apparatus used in mining and metallurgy, 
either as originals or reproductions. 

Coal and iron are treated in broad lines; for in the United States these 
industries represent the investment of hundreds of millions of capital and 
afford employment to hundreds of thousands of men. Of bituminous coal the 
annual yield exceeds 100,000,000 tons; of anthracite nearly half as much, 
and of pig iron about 10,000,000 tons; the total value of their output, 
the two first as delivered at the mines being estimated at more than $300,
000,000. Next in order of value, or very nearly so, are silver, building 
stones, copper, lime, gold, petroleum, natural gas, lead, and zinc, these 
and other metals and minerals increasing the total production to about 
$650,000,000 a year. In the exhibits contained in the Mining hall, quality 
rather than quantity is the feature of the display; and here the visitor 
may learn more in this connection than years of travel could teach him. In 
the coal collections for instance, are not only the varieties produced in 
different regions, but with many of the specimens are chemical analyses, 
and the results of tests whereby have been demonstrated their economic 
value and adaptability to special uses, with geological and other maps and 
drawings showing stratification, extent, locality, accessibility, and 
other valuable data. And so with iron and other products, all the groups 
being arranged and illustrated with special reference to the industries 
which they represent. 

Near the northern portal of the hall, flanked on either side by the 
pavilions of France and Pennsylvania, is a lofty monument fashioned of 
cubes, which gradually decrease in size almost to a point. Those at the 
base are of massive proportions, and on several of them are inscribed the 
words anthracite, limestone, natural gas, petroleum, iron ore, and 
granite. Then come salt and other minerals produced in the United States, 
nearly all of commercial value having a place in the column. In these 
cubes are represented the proportionate bulk of all the minerals which 
come from the mines and quarries of this country during one second of 
time, asbestos forming its tip, gold ore second, and silver ore only a few 
removes from the top. 

Within the entrance of Pennsylvania's pavilion are displayed her petroleum 
and petroleum products in hundreds of glass bottles contained in neatly 
finished show-cases. Facing them is a large relief map of the state, 
representing the location of her principal coal and iron mines, her oil 
and natural gas deposits, blast furnaces, pipe systems, and railroads. In 
a small pavilion are shown the various uses of slate, as for pillars, 
roofing, walls, and blackboards. On the western side are exhibited in the 
form of truncated pyramids, grouped in rectangular shape, all the 
varieties of anthracite, with commercial samples and analyses, while at 
the corners of the rectangle are samples of bituminous coal. A colored 
drawing illustrates the manufacture of zinc oxide and spiegeleisen, the 
latter largely used for the manufacture of Bessemer steel. In bricks and 
other samples, crude and burned, are shown the many varieties of fire clay 
found in Pennsylvania, and next to these are tile clays in every form. 
There are also more than 100 specimens of building stones, with glass 
sands, the mixtures used for various kinds of glass, and the finished 
product. Soapstone, nickel, manganese, iron ores, and the several stages 
in the manufacture of iron, with the charcoal, anthracite, bituminous 
coal, and coke used for such purposes, are also on exposition. 

An interesting exhibit is a complete working model of a coal mine, with 
engines and the work they do, from hauling coal up the incline until it is 
dumped into the screen and there assorted into sizes and loaded into 
railroad cars. Near by is a primitive iron furnace, of a pattern more than 
1,000 years old, and grouped about it are rude implements such as Tubal 
Cain might have used. On the walls are photographs, charts, and maps of 
geological and mineralogical surveys, with relief maps and other 
illustrations. 

But the most attractive feature is in the central court of the Mining 
hall, where is the shaft or so-called needle of anthracite already 
mentioned. This trophy is fashioned of solid blocks of that mineral, 
extracted from 

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the Mammoth mine of the Lehigh Valley Coal company. It is more than 50 
feet high, weighs nearly 100 tons, and to mine and place it in position 
was the task of many weeks, involving an outlay of several thousand 
dollars. The entire collection from Pennsylvania is gathered and arranged 
as a utilitarian rather than an ornamental display, and shows to excellent 
advantage her rich and manifold resources. 

The exhibits of the empire state are also of a substantial character, with 
no attempt at ornamentation except for the pavilion which contains them, 
and a pagoda of terra cotta in one of its corners. The former is in the 
shape of a rectangular colonnade, the entablature resting on Ionic arches 
springing from pillars of uniform design, and the corners surmounted with 
handsome balustrades. The cornices and frieze are decorated with 
sculptured tablets, and the spandrels between the arches are ornamented 
with representations in relief of mining scenes and implements. In front 
is an obelisk constructed of rocks in the order of geological succession, 
the device of the geologist James Hall. Here it may be mentioned that, 
apart from local collections, this is the only complete exposition that 
New York has ever attempted of her geological formation and mineral 
resources, though in this state is found the keynote to the geology of a 
vast adjacent region. 

Among the exhibits are samples of all building, ornamental, and other 
stones of commercial value, of which the state possesses an abundant 
store. There are likewise specimens of the solid crystalline salt deposits 
peculiar to her soil, with clays, gypsum, sands, and shale, the first 
including kaolin, and displayed in raw and manufactured forms, together 
with mineral paints, iron ores, and petroleum. A feature in the collection 
is the beautiful specimens of quartz and fluorite, and on the gallery 
floor is a large assortment of precious stones and minerals contributed by 
a New York jewelry firm. 

Adjoining the New York section on the east is the New Jersey pavilion, the 
greater portion of which is devoted to an exposition of her geology, 
illustrated by a large relief map. Along the walls are cabinet specimens 
of ores, building stones, and potters' clay, in the last of which the 
state is especially rich. Her production of zinc is somewhat remarkable'; 
and here the information is conveyed that of the 1,000,000 tons of ore 
produced in the United States since 1873, 719,000 were contributed by New 
Jersey. 

Either in the western galleries among the metallurgical groups, or in the 
eastern galleries among the specimens of building stone, all the New 
England states are represented with the exception of Rhode Island. From 
the Colby University of Waterville, Maine; from the Portland society of 
natural history, and various private sources, are collections of minerals 
and gems, a quarry company contributing a large urn of polished granite 
and a variety of smaller specimens. Harvard college sends to the 
Massachusetts section many rare fossils, large slabs of stone showing the 
foot-prints of some mammoth of the antideluvian era. Granite and marble, 
gneiss and hornblende, corundum, emery, and graphite, with an abundance of 
ores and gems, virtually complete the collection of the old Bay state. 

New Hampshire, Vermont, and Connecticut display their granites and marbles 
in the eastern galleries. In the New Hampshire collection are many 
specimens of mica, and pillars and a massive table are constructed of the 
stone for which that state is famous. The granites of Connecticut, 
principally gray and red, are also the prominent feature of her section. 
Vermont, while showing several beautiful varieties of granite, upholds her 
reputation as the producer of some of the best marbles from the quarries 
of the United States, the specimens being displayed in a circular portico 
of Grecian architecture. Many of the cases within contain cubes of the 
best known American varieties, and the famous marble quarries of Rutland 
contribute largely to the general effect. 

One of the most interesting and unique of the scores of pavilion 
elevations in the Mining hall is that of Kentucky, in the background of 
which is depictured the entrance to her mammoth cave, while beneath it is 
reproduced a section of the cave, to which a trap-door affords access. The 
facade is a temple-like structure 

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of Gothic architecture, and, together with the wide open archway in the 
centre, is built of cannel coal, its effect increased by contrast with the 
white marble edifice of the empire state. Its plan was suggested by the 
portal of the Virginia Military institute in Stonewall Jackson's native 
town. While consisting largely of coal, as might be expected from a region 
with 14,000 square miles of bituminous coal deposits, and with a yearly 
output of more than 3,000,000 tons, the exhibits of Kentucky are as varied 
as her resources, and include marble and other valuable stones, tile-clay, 
copper, iron, gold, and silver, all displayed as minerals, ores, or metals 
to the best advantage. 

Ohio's section in enclosed by a handsome colonnade, constructed entirely 
of minerals found within her borders, and intended to present in 
picturesque form her resources in that direction. One of the passage-ways 
is fashioned of tiles, and extending over the entire length of the floor 
space at the northern end are alcoves containing specimens of quartz. In 
show-cases are mining and mineral samples, and in the centre are models 
illustrating the manufacture of table salt and the machinery used for 
pumping oil from Lima's productive wells. In the galleries Ohio is well 
represented in the metallurgical exhibits organized by Frederick J. V. 
Skiff, the chief of the Mining department, and here also are several 
collections from her university and colleges of agriculture and the 
mechanic arts. 

Representing as they do one of the most prolific districts in the 
production of building stone, the exhibits of Indiana, both in the 
construction of her pavilion and its contents, are somewhat of a uniform 
character. The four granite pillars which support the entrance harmonize 
in coloring with the whitish grey of the limestone, the latter a prominent 
factor in the mineral wealth of the state. The quarries at Bedford are 
especially noted, and thence were gathered the bulk of the limestone 
specimens ranged along the centre of the section. Opposite are large 
blocks of coal, for which Indiana is famed, both as to quantity and 
quality of output. Elsewhere are cabinet specimens of building stone, and 
samples of petroleum oil, brick, tiling, and other clay products, while 
near the western entrance to the Mining hall is a stately pillar of 
oolitic limestone from Bedford deposits. 

Michigan occupies a place of honor, fronting on the central court, and 
with the largest space allotted to any of the state exhibits. Among the 
materials used for her pavilion are specimens of building and ornamental 
stones, with other mineral taken from Michigan mines and quarries. The 
archway is of native sandstone, its dome-like interior lines with copper, 
on which are displayed the mineral products of the state fashioned in the 
form of shields, with the coat of arms on medallions, and above all an 
allegorical group representing two miners whom the presiding genius of 
that industry is crowning with wreaths of laurel. 

Fronting on the central nave is a large diagram showing a cross section of 
a mine operated by the Cleveland Cliffs Iron company, and representing its 
geological formations, with the system of shafts sunk to three successive 
levels before the ore body is reached. On two of the interior walls are 
pictures of the more prominent mines in the upper peninsula, as the 
Pittsburgh, Barnum, and Salisbury, around which are heaps of timbers and 
snow-covered piles of ore. The famous Calumet and Hecla mines, and the 
stone quarries of Marquette, are also reproduced in graphic art; and among 
scenic views are those of Lake Angeline before its waters were drawn of, 
and of Todd's harbor and Isle Royal. One of the exhibiting companies shows 
the levels of its mine in sheets of glass on which are indicated the 
locations of drifts and tunnels, while elsewhere are models of machinery, 
mills, and reduction works. 

Michigan's display of minerals is both interesting and instructive; 
including specimens of the richest iron ore found within the state. There 
are samples of gold ore found near Ishpeming, assaying $10,00 to the ton, 

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with silver ores, marble of different kinds and colors, verde antique and 
serpentine, and granite and whetstones. These specimens are for the most 
part taken from private collections, as are also graphite, fire and common 
clay, fire sand, coal, amethyst, agate, and chlorastrolites, the last a 
beautiful mineral, and found only in Spain and on Isle Royal in Michigan. 
Among other samples here displayed in profusion may be mentioned red 
analcimes, abophylites, prehanites, dalholites, stilbites, dolomites, and 
calcites. Then there are pipe ores, kidney ores, needle iron ore, grape 
ores, epidotes, and calcite crystals, containing native copper, yet indeed 
representing but a tithe of the more valuable and useful portion of the 
collection. 

But copper is the main feature in the Michigan section, and in truth the 
display is a generous one, including native copper, copper ingots, bars, 
sheets, cakes, and wires; rag, nail and fan copper; ores, conglomerates, 
and amygdaloids; battery and tailing samples, and copper in what other 
forms soever it is found or fashioned. The largest mass is of native 
copper, weighing 8,500 pounds, with others almost as bulky, composed of 
the richest of ores and conglomerates. In the centre of the pavilion are 
two mounds of copper, one constructed of wire, at the base of which are 
sections welded by an electrical process whereby wires can be produced of 
indefinite length. 

Among the more curious exhibits are prehistoric tools found in the mines, 
fashioned of native copper, and in the form of knives, spear and arrow 
heads, adzes, and hammers. These are among the state contributions; and no 
one can tell how they were made, for the metal is hardened and tempered by 
a process which modern scientists and mechanics have failed as yet to 
discover. As to this process it can only be said that thousands of 
inventors have tried in vain to reproduce it, and that to the aborigines 
of the Lake Superior region was known what is now a lost art, whereby 
weapons and tools were made such as cannot be duplicated by the most 
improved of modern methods. Says the official in charge of this exhibit: 
"It is claimed by several that tempered copper is now being placed on the 
market; but if the art is ever to be discovered, it has not been achieved 
so far. I have heard of men who have seen weapons or tools of the 
aborigines that would turn the edge of a steel chisel or dull a file." 

The state which contains the home of the Fair reserves her strength for 
the machinery department in the Mining hall, and is mentioned in that 
connection. In Wisconsin's collection are fully illustrated her abundant 
mineral resources. Shafts of polished red marble support the arch above 
the entrance way; at the corners are monoliths of sandstone, and within is 
a temple-lie structure, its dome upheld by fluted columns with Doric 
capitals. The floor is of black and white tiling, and the materials for 
the outside walls were furnished from Bayfield quarries. In the centre of 
the pavilion is a pagoda, at the corners of which are bars of lead and 
piles of iron, zinc, and galena ores. In pyramids and other forms are all 
the economic minerals and metals of Wisconsin, in raw or manufactured 
forms, including marble and granite; bricks, tiles, and terra cotta; 
jasper and serpentine; iron, copper, zinc, and lead; brown hematite of 
ochre, mineral paints, and the sands that are used for the making of 
glass. From Milwaukee are specimens of the so-called Wisconsin pearls, and 
from not a few of the exhibitors are entire cabinets of specimens, for 
many counties have contributed to the display. 

Minnesota's home in the Mining hall is east of the Ohio section, her booth 
partially enclosed by a bronze fence of scroll-work, and the entrance-way 
of building stone from her principal quarries. Within is a remarkable 
display for a state that has but recently attempted mining on any 
considerable scale. Her principal exhibits are of iron, large 
contributions coming from the region tributary to Duluth, and including a 
great variety of specimens. About thirty companies are represented, and 
the samples shown by each contain not less than 63 percent of metal, while 
several show nearly 70 percent, a remarkable average considering the 
extent of territory from which they were taken. 

Of iron ores there are many exhibitors, including a carefully selected 
group of specimens. Of building stones there is a special contribution 
containing 100 varieties, with samples of bricks and the clays from which 
they were made. From Duluth is a fine specimen 

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of Lake Superior amethyst weighing 300 pounds. A group of jasper shows the 
highly polished quartz; another is in the rough, and a third consists of 
carved figures from stone of a reddish hue. From Sioux valley is also a 
handsome shaft of jasper polished by hand. Granite is well represented, 
especially in a pillar and shaft of this material, the latter of the 
speckled variety from Rockville. There is slate from Cloquet, brown stone 
from Duluth, and other varieties from various parts of the state. A unique 
structure is in the form of a mound, its base of Indian pipestone, upon 
which is a layer of jasper, then several feet of earth, with the 
greensward for a covering. The lower portion of the mound was quarried 
from the red pipestone quarries on the national reservation in Minnesota, 
near Pipe Stone city, and said to be the only quarry of its kind in the 
world. Since time immemorial the American aborigines have used this 
substance for their peacepipes which Longfellow has described in his 
Hiawatha. 

Among other features of interest is a model of the Chandler mine at Ely, 
showing the shaft houses, tools, and mining apparatus, as well as the 
geographical formation and the different levels, with the process of 
mining, hoisting, and timbering, and with miners carrying lanterns on 
their heads. Arranged along the inner walls are charts illustrating the 
underground plan of the Minnesota mines at Soudon. 

Beneath the stairway at the southern end of the Mining hall are the coal 
pillars of the Iowa pavilion, to which an ornate appearance is given by 
the judicious use of colored clays and sands. Within are mound so iron, 
lead, and zinc, a miniature grotto constructed of material gathered from 
the caves of Dubuque county, and the display of a Centerville coal 
company, consisting of models of its works and cars, installed upon a 
platform of coal. There is also shown the interior of a coal mine, with 
full-sized figures of miners at work, and a truck filled with coal on the 
track ready to be hauled to the surface. The depth is only twenty-five 
feet, but by an ingenious device appearing as though it were several 
hundred feet. The mouth of the pit, over which are the words Iowa Black 
Diamond Hollow, is surrounded with solid blocks of coal. Adjoining the 
pavilion proper are cabinets of economic minerals, and a small section in 
which are shown by a marble company specimens of its stone in raw and 
manufactured forms. 

To Missouri was assigned one of the four sections around the central 
court, where also are the exhibits of Michigan, Germany, and Great 
Britain. Her tasteful pavilion, with its handsome portal and colonnade, 
its decorated frieze and balustrade, is composed almost entirely of 
materials furnished by the state. The base is of granite from the syenite 
quarries of southeastern Missouri, the walls of brick from St. Louis 
county, and the pillars, capitals, and frieze are of terra cotta. At the 
principal entrance-way are panels of onyx, and the coat of arms above it 
is surmounted by an eagle, with garlands depending from the shoulders of 
cupids. 

Within this structure are worthily represented the resources of a state 
which in 1892 produced more than 3,000,000 tons of coal, 131,000 tons of 
iron ore, of zinc ore almost as much, and 32,000 tons of lead; her yield 
of these metals for the year being estimated at $9,100,000, and the entire 
output up to that date at $178,000,000. On tables and in glass-covered 
show-cases of polished oak are countless labelled specimens, with 
photographs and models indicating mineral localities and features, and 
with mineral production and distribution displayed in chart and diagram 
form. In the centre of the pavilion is a large relief map showing the 
areas and locations of all the principal deposits of economic minerals. 
The value of the entire display is further increased by its methodical 
arrangement, with inscriptions and labels for the various groups of 
products, and for each of the specimens of which the groups are composed. 

While coal, iron, lead, and zinc form the bulk of the display, there are 
numerous specimens of other metals and minerals, including copper and 
silver ores; blendes of various kinds; calcites, calamites, dolomites, 

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and siegenites; ochres, glass-sand, clays, and bricks; sandstone, 
limestone, marble, and granite. Zinc is a special feature in the 
collection, as befits a state which produces more than one-half of the 
entire output of the United States. Some of the specimens are remarkable 
for range and brilliance of coloring; their shades varying, from black to 
a lightish yellow, while colorless crystals are arranged in tasteful 
groupings. The mineral is displayed in every shape, beginning with the 
crude ore as it comes from the mine, and displaying each successive stage 
up to the completed product in all its commercial forms. Lead is similarly 
treated, and near a table on which is a 1650-pound mass of zinc ore is a 
group of nearly perfect cubes of galena weighing 500 pounds, and almost 
entirely of pure lead from the Joplin mines. In the centre of this section 
is a pedestal of solid metal formed of specimens from various smelting 
works throughout the state. At the southeast corner is a pyramid of ore 
built of specimens ranging from a few pounds to several tons. From 
Greenfield quarries comes a handsome marble altar, and from St. Louis 
county, a sample of nickel sulphide, of special interest to mineralogists. 

Arkansas, Missouri's geographical neighbor, occupies only a few square 
feet of space in the extreme southwestern corner of the hall, among the 
exhibits of Latin-American republics. There the state is represented by a 
small collection of minerals, consisting mainly of carbonates of zinc. 

Upon the frieze of South Dakota's tasteful pavilion is the inscription: 
"First in gold mining machinery, first in new mines, and second in gold." 
In support of this claim are exhibited some remarkable specimens of gold 
ore, though perhaps more noteworthy is the collection of tin ores from 
Harney peak. Coal if but feebly represented; for the extensive deposits of 
South Dakota have as yet been little utilized. In the rear of this section 
are two life-size figures carved in sandstone, one of a pioneer 
prospector, and the other of a prosperous, well-dressed citizen of the 
present day. Among the attractions are also petrified woods from the 
neighborhood of Sioux Falls, and a tower of Portland cement from a Yankton 
manufacturer. 

The Kansas section in the north of the hall corresponds to that of Iowa in 
the south, but is of smaller extent. Briefly, lead and zinc ores, metallic 
lead and zinc, rock salt and gypsum comprise the exhibit, among which are 
several fine specimens of galena lead, displayed at the entrance-way. 
Among the collective exhibits in the east gallery are also samples of 
Kansas cement, and of golden ochre from the Saline river. 

The most striking feature in the section allotted to West Virginia is the 
exhibits of coal, specimens of which are seen at every hand and in all 
sizes and shapes. This is as it should be, since, both in actual 
production and in deposits still undeveloped, the state occupies a 
foremost rank. As is also evident from this display one of the most 
prominent industries is the manufacture of coke, while petroleum, both 
crude and refined, calls attention to another source of wealth. Building 
stones, fire clays, hydraulic limestone, and glass sand are here on 
exposition, with a refuse substance from a glass factory known as mineral 
wool which, in appearance and fire-proof qualities, is little inferior to 
asbestos. In the picturesque mountains of West Virginia are numerous 
mineral springs whose waters possess valuable medicinal properties, and of 
these there are a few samples among the more substantial collections. 

With the exception of West Virginia, the exhibits of the southern states 
are installed in the northeastern section of the hall, adjoining the 
department of machinery. North Carolina has the most elaborate display, 
and along one side of it are groups of limestone, white, blue, gray, and 
mottled marble, gray and pink granite, and gray and brown sandstone. In 
cases arranged along the section walls are many specimens of gold, both 
free and in the ore, with smaller collections of iron, tin, copper, 
silver, and coal. Sapphires, garnets, emeralds, smoky quartz, and other 
gems and crystals are shown, together with such useful products as kaolin, 
fire-clay, graphite, and talc, the last especially valuable in the 
manufacture of pencils. In crystalline and silicious forms are numerous 

Page 478

samples of corundum, which serves as the basis of many preparations used 
by dentists and opticians, and also by workers in metal, for grinding, 
abrading, and polishing their goods. The mica deposits of North Carolina 
furnish an interesting collection, and the exhibit is diversified by a 
number of large photographs displaying various localities which nature has 
enriched with mineral deposits. 

In Virginia's section, one of the most attractive features is the 
picturesque scenery along the line of the Chesapeake and Ohio railway, 
depictured in the background. Among the exhibits proper the most 
remarkable are two large masses of iron ore and coal, the former of which 
is the nearest approach to steel that nature has made, while the latter is 
a coking and almost smokeless variety, and combines more desirable 
qualities than any that have yet been mined. In the North Carolina 
collection are specimens of zinc, lead, and tin ores, the ores from which 
mineral paint is made, and granite, slate, and other building and 
ornamental stones. 

Between the New Jersey and Minnesota pavilions a small section is jointly 
occupied by Louisiana and Tennessee. The latter presents a few specimens 
of iron, coal, building stones, and the clays used in the manufacture of 
bricks and tilings. Louisiana occupies the greater part of the space, and 
of special interest are the exhibits of chalk kaolin, and the clays used 
by the potter and the maker of imitation meerschaum pipes. There are also 
a few samples of iron, gold, and silver ores, of sandstones and 
whetstones, and of soda and potash; but the most striking exhibits are of 
fine, coarse, and rock salt, one of them representing a figure of Lot's 
wife standing in the foreground. 

Except for a shaft of semi-bituminous coal at one of the western 
approaches to the Mining hall, and erected by a manufacturer of mining 
machinery, Maryland is without representation in this department. South 
Carolina and Florida find expression in the eastern galleries, especially 
in their lavish display of phosphates, the one from the Palmetto state 
being mainly contributed by mining and manufacturing companies of 
Charleston. Among them is crude phosphate rock, mined both from the river 
beds and the dry soil, together with strange forms of fossil life. From 
Florida are also samples of phosphates, both in its crude state and 
prepared as a fertilizer, the exhibit being arranged in a frame of native 
woods which shows the geographical outlines of the state. 

Page 479

Before describing the exhibits of the Pacific slope, whence comes our main 
supply of the precious metals, a few remarks may be of interest as to the 
relative yield of gold and silver, and the conditions evolved thereby. Of 
the total output of the United States, amounting for the century ending 
with 1892, to nearly $2,000,000,000 in gold and $1,2000,000,000 in silver, 
less than one percent was produced between 1792 and 1847. Then came the 
discovery of Marshall, who was about to throw away as iron pyrites a 
handful of what proved to be scales and nuggets of gold, picked up near 
the historic saw-mill in Coloma valley. In the single year of 1849 more 
gold was taken from the earth than during the half century which preceded 
it, production gradually increasing until in 1853 it reached its maximum 
value of $65,000,000, gradually diminishing to less than $40,000,000 in 
1862. 

Meanwhile the Comstock lode had revealed its treasures, and from an 
average of less than 40,000 ounces for many previous years, the total 
output of silver rose to 6,600,000 ounces in 1863, gaining in volume, 
though with many fluctuations, until for 1892 it was estimated at 58,000,
000 ounces, for the waning yield of Nevada mines had been more than 
compensated by the product of Colorado, Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, 
and other Pacific slope states. This was attended with a corresponding 
shrinkage in value, the price of silver in New York and London falling 
from $1.14 to 87 cents an ounce, or a decline of some 24 percent for the 
decade ending with 1892, and with a still further depreciation in the 
following year. Between 1849 and 1860 the production of gold in relation 
to silver was in the ratio of more than fifty to one in actual weight. 
Thenceforth these conditions were gradually changed, until, for the ten 
years ending with 1892, there were produced about twenty-five ounces of 
silver to one of gold, while for the last of these years the proportion 
was thirty-six to one. Here is the key-note to the silver question; for 
the precious metals are merely commodities, and life all other 
commodities, are subject to the inexorable laws of supply and demand. To 
place a fictitious value on silver is no more practicable than to place a 
fictitious value on coal or iron, on wheat or pork, and all such efforts 
can only result in making the United States the dumping ground for the 
loose silver of the world. Such, at least, are the teachings of political 
economy, a science the merest elements of which it would seem that many of 
our law-makers have yet to learn. 

Though with a vastly diminished yield as compared with earlier years, 
California still occupies the foremost rank as a gold-producing state, her 
output averaging from $12,000,000 to $13,000,000, or more than one-third 
of the present production of the United States, while of the total yield, 
since 1848, more than two-thirds must be accredited to the golden state. 
Of silver her annual product is less than $1,000,000, and has never 
exceeded that amount. Of quicksilver a considerable amount is produced, 
the New Almaden mine alone contributing since 1850 more than 70,000,000 
pounds. Iron is widely distributed; but can be imported at rates that 
almost prohibit local development. It was not until 1880 that the first 
smelting works in California were erected at Clipper gap in Placer county, 
with a capacity of 15,000 

Page 480

tons a year. Coal, though abundant, is for the most part in narrow seams, 
of inferior quality, and in localities difficult of access, the only 
productive veins of importance being near Mount Diablo, within a few miles 
of San Francisco bay. Of petroleum 8,000,000 gallons were obtained in 
1884, and since that date a much larger quantity. The largest works are in 
Ventura county, whence the crude oil is conveyed in iron pipes to a 
shipping point on the coast. Asphaltum, formed by the evaporation of the 
volatile portion of the oil, is also plentiful in several of the southern 
counties. 

Of copper there is enough to supply the demands of the world, but with 
less than $100,000 worth annually taken from its native gangue. Borax is 
largely produced in San Bernardino and Inyo counties, from a tract 10,000 
acres in extent. In Lake county there are also valuable deposits together 
with a sulphur bank, on the eastern shore of Clear lake, where sulphur was 
first manufactured in 1861. The first bar of tin, fashioned in the United 
States from native ore, came from a California mine; but, as an industry, 
tin mining has thus far proved unprofitable. Mineral soap, for which no 
better name has yet been adopted, was known to exist as early as 1849, and 
mineral paint has become an article of commerce. Building stone is 
abundant, a marble quarry in Tuolumne county being worked in 1857, while, 
near Auburn, in Placer county, is granite of excellent quality. Of mineral 
springs there are fifty which serve as health resorts, with twice as many 
more unknown to fame. Among metals and minerals but little utilized may be 
mentioned saltpetre, asbestos, antimony, platinum, chromium, mica, 
bismuth, zinc, and iridium. Such are the principal resources of California 
as a mining region, here mentioned not with intent to give special 
prominence to that state, but because, as elsewhere on the Pacific slope, 
these resources, apart from the precious metals, are as yet but little 
appreciated. 

To the Pacific states a liberal space was allotted in the southeastern 
section of the hall of Mines and Mining, flanked on one side by exhibits 
of mining machinery, and separated by the central nave from those of 
foreign lands. In front of the group is the pavilion of the golden state, 
in which are displayed to excellent advantage her many varieties of 
building materials. The portal is constructed of various kinds of stone, 
in the form of a triple arch, thirty-six feet in length, with wings on 
either side, with base of dark granite and white marble columns from 
Colton and Inyo quarries. The caps of the columns are richly carved, 
supporting a handsome entablature, and behind them are pilasters of onyx, 
beautifully veined. The arches are of grey sandstone, the panels and 
pediments of variegated marble, and the wings of blue green-stone, nearly 
all the best of California's building stones, some of them highly 
polished, being represented in this pavilion. 

The specimens gathered during a series of years by the state mining bureau 
form the basis of the exhibit, and to these were added contributions from 
private collections, forming together a valuable assortment of economic 
minerals, some of them almost a novelty to the scientific world. In double 
rows of show-cases are choice samples of gold and silver ores, containing 
some $20,000 worth of metal, and representing all the more prominent 
mines. Here also is the metal itself in various forms; but the centre of 
interest in the California section was the historical nugget which 
Marshall picked up from the Coloma millrace on a January morning in 1848, 
the finding of which revolutionized the commercial conditions of the 
world. This, however, was a treasure presumably of too great value to be 
trusted by its owner, even under the care of the Exposition authorities, 
and was removed not long after the opening of the Fair. 

Upon the walls and around them are souvenirs and memorials of pioneer 
days, including a portrait 

Page 481

of Marshall, photographs of hydraulic mining and mining processes and 
districts, among them Sutter's mill and mine, with the primitive rocker 
and pan, the mining methods of those days being a cross between Mexican 
tradition and Yankee ingenuity. In models is illustrated the science of 
mine timbering, especially as applied on the Comstock lode, in Nevada, in 
what is known as the crib system of timbering, invented by a German miner 
and scientist, Philip Deidesheimer by name. When a depth of some 200 feet 
was reached in the Ophir mine, the ore body was found to be 45 feet in 
width, thus rendering almost useless the post and cap system before in 
use, for such would not uphold the roof of the chamber. Then it was that 
this man came to the rescue, framing timbers in square sets or cribs from 
four to six in size, piled one upon another, and filled with waste rock, 
thus sustaining lateral as well as downward pressure. The plan was widely 
adopted; and but for this or some similar appliance, the deeper workings 
of the Comstock, which have added nearly $350,000,000 to the stock of 
precious metals, would never have reached, as later they did, a depth of 
more than 3,000 feet. In statistical and other forms much valuable 
information is conveyed, and here not a few among the pilgrims of the Fair 
will learn for the first time that of the total yield of gold, amounting 
since 1848 to $1,900,000,000 for all the United States, California has 
contributed $1,310,000,000. 

Oregon's display, though unpretentious, was somewhat of a surprise to the 
majority of exposition sightseers. Coal, iron, and copper were known to 
exist in abundance; but few were prepared to see in this collection such 
specimens of gold and silver ores as are here exhibited. Among them are 
samples of gold quartz assaying several hundred dollars to the ton, one of 
them from the surface croppings of a recently discovered mine. Nearly all 
the mineral products of the state are represented, and in a model is shown 
the process of hydraulic mining. In 1891 Oregon produced more than $1,600,
000 worth of gold, and some $300,000 in silver, the former the largest 
yield recorded up to that date, the principal mines being in the 
southwestern districts where the veins are small but rich. Sine, in 1855, 
the first cargo of coal was shipped to San Francisco from the Coos bay 
mines, these beds have been worked without intermission, the maximum yield 
of 82,000 tons being reached in 1887, while the gradual decrease to 35,000 
tons in 1892 was due only to low prices and labor troubles; for the 
deposits are practically inexhaustible. In few sections of the United 
States are iron ores more widely distributed or more advantageously 
located, the Oswego works furnishing this metal to Oregon and California 
foundries for more than a score of years. Copper ores are plentiful and 
rich, though as yet but little utilized. 

Page 482

Of nickel there is in Douglas county one of the largest mines in the 
world, rivalling the famous deposit in the Sudbury district, in the 
Canadian province of Ontario. Platinum and iridium are found in connection 
with placer gold; cinnabar exists in several districts, and with marble, 
granite, and other building stones, few of the Pacific states are better 
supplied. 

In Washington's tasteful pavilion of terra cotta are 150 tons of mineral 
samples, gathered from every mine at which samples could be obtained. 
Among them are gold, silver, iron, lead, and copper ores; with coal, 
granite, marble, and onyx; sands and clays; bricks, tiles, and terra 
cotta; thus representing the principal mining resources and industries of 
this young and ambitious commonwealth. Here also, or in the state 
pavilion, are reproduced in models or in graphic art several of the more 
prominent mines, with the mountains and ravines in which they were 
discovered, with assays, statistics, and other information conveyed in 
attractive form. In the centre is a monument composed of gold, silver, 
lead, and copper ores, the shaft entirely of silver specimens, and around 
it groups of minerals in various designs. Near by is an ornate structure 
of similar materials with a large mass of magnetic ore. The entire display 
is a credit to the evergreen state, which, to add to its attractions, 
purchases a number of gold nuggets, and even constructed roads to remote 
districts where contributions had been promised. 

In comparison with other metals and minerals, Washington's yield of gold 
and silver is inconsiderable, the latter amounting for 1891 to less than 
$600,000. During the regime of the Hudson Bay company coal was discovered 
in the Cowlitz valley. In 1852 deposits were found on Bellingham bay, and 
between 1860 and 1879 produced at the rate of 13,000 tons a year. 
Meanwhile more valuable beds had been disclosed, and the total output 
gradually increased to its maximum of 1,264,000 tons in 1890, the yield 
for 1892 being estimated at 900,000 tons. The entire area of coal lands 
has been stated at 180,000 acres, most of it within 40 miles of tide 
water, a single company owning claims on the Squak river two miles in 
length, with veins occurring at intervals from five to twelve feet in 
thickness, and said to contain 10,000,000 tons of merchantable coal. Bog 
iron ore is abundant, and in Iron mountain, near the Snoqualmie pass, are 
veins of magnetite from 50 to 150 feet in thickness. On Kettle river are 
copper ores assaying from 50 to 75 percent, all these and other resources 
as yet almost untouched. 

Turning to the adjacent state of Idaho, we find that her yield of the 
precious metals was estimated for 1892 at 90,000 ounces of gold and 3,250,
000 of silver, the latter the smallest output in several years, due to 
extreme depression in prices, and to labor troubles in Coeur d'Alene, the 
principal argentiferous district. From the low-grade galena ores of this 
district, occuring in veins of considerable width, and with no indications 
of failure as depth is attained, were extracted in 1891 nearly 2,000,000 
ounces of silver, and 

Page 483

66,000,000 pounds of lead, Idaho ranking next to Colorado in production of 
the latter. Says one who has made a careful study of her mines: "Coeur d' 
Alene is most favorably situated for producing lead, the silver being 
almost a by-product. The ore is cheaply worked, and numerous streams 
afford ample water power. These mines can be operated at a profit with the 
price of white metal so low that others are compelled to shut down." 

Apart from the precious metals, Idaho has an abundance of coal, iron, 
copper, sulphur, and salt. From the Narragansett mine in Owyhee county 
iron ores have been taken so rich in metal as to be cast into dies for 
stamp-mills, and elsewhere are veins which yield from 50 to 60 percent, 
while the copper ores of the Bear lake district assay as high as 75 
percent. Near Soda springs is an immense deposit of sulphur, much of it 
containing 70 to 80 percent of mineral, and at the Oneida salt works a 
marketable quality of salt is produced by simply boiling the water of 
springs in galvanized iron vessels. In northern Idaho there are mica, 
marble, granite, and sandstone, and almost throughout the entire country 
metals and minerals of economic value are widely distributed. 

First among the hundreds of exhibits contained in Idaho's classic 
pavilion, colored in white and gold, may be mentioned that of the state, 
including, among others, samples of gold, silver, and copper ores, 
cinnabar, building stones and clays, quartz crystals, sapphires, 
amethysts, and ruby sands. From nearly all the more prominent mines 
contributions were secured, each county being thoroughly canvassed, and 
with the result that nearly 2,000 samples were forwarded to Jackson Park 
in several car-loads. Not a few of these are contained in the 2,500 
cabinet specimens, selected by an expert, who also states the name of the 
mine and its owner, the assay value of the ores, the depth at which they 
were obtained, and other information of interest to mining men. 

Gold and silver are freely displayed in the Idaho section; the former in 
the shape of nuggets from private cabinets, some of them found in the 
placers worked in pioneer days. Of wire silver there are beautiful 
specimens, delicate threads of pure silver, resembling filigree work, 
clinging tenaciously to bunches of galena ore. Among the exhibits are two 
rectangular blocks of what appears to be lead bullion, but is in fact 
galena ore, containing 75 percent of lead, 15 of sulphur, and 130 ounces 
of silver to the ton. Of palladium ore there are samples from the 
Esmerelda mine in Lemhi county, where it is found in bunches yielding two 
or three ounces to the ton, in combination with free milling gold. This 
rare and valuable metal possesses the hardness of the finest steel, and is 
used, among other purposes, for astronomical, surveying, and electrical 
instruments, the main 

Page 485

supply coming from South American countries. 

Of pure aluminum there are samples extracted from the clay banks of 
Kootenai county, said to contain more than forty percent of the metal. 
Among valuable stones are the onyx and opal, the latter found in a 
recently discovered mine on the banks of Snake river, and taken from 
matrices several inches in width. From Lewiston comes a specimen of rock 
almost unknown to scientists, of variegated tints somewhat resembling 
jasper, and one that will cut glass more readily than a diamond. Iron and 
copper ores are in liberal supply, and a large case is filled with samples 
of lead and copper concentrates; of granite, marble, and alabaster there 
are several exhibitors, and of asbestos there is a sample from Owyhee 
county, where a deposit was found in the autumn of 1892. Finally there is 
a large collection of mineral waters, in which, as in other resources, 
Idaho is especially rich, awaiting only the means of transportation for 
their fuller development. 

Except for Alaska, whose yield of gold already exceeds $2,000,000 a year, 
and with one of the largest gold quartz mines in the United States - the 
Treadwell lode on Douglas island - with immense deposits of low grade but 
dividend paying ore, Nevada is the only section of the Pacific slope that 
is not represented among the main exhibits of the Mining department. And 
yet, not many years ago, Nevada was the largest silver producing region in 
the world, the bullion product of the Comstock mines alone amounting to 
$350,000,000, and for the single year of 1876, when the maximum was 
reached, to more than $70,000,000. 

Utah has some 300 exhibits of gold, silver, silver-lead, copper, zinc, 
iron, and other ores, with building stones, coal, antimony, quick-silver, 
sulphur, salt, asbestos, and other metals and minerals, all neatly 
arranged and fairly representing the abundant mineral resources of the 
territory. In iron Utah is especially rich, with surface deposits in Iron 
county alone estimated at 50,000,000 tons, one of them a solid mass of 
magnetic ore, 1,000 feet long and half that width, from which analyses 
show from 60 to 65 percent of metal. 

Of the 163,000 tons of copper obtained from domestic ores in 1892, more 
than one-half came from Montana, whose yield for that year was 82,150 
tons, against 53,700 tons for Michigan mines. Of this enormous output, the 
largest thus far on record for a single state, 50,000 tons came from the 
Anaconda company's works, whose property includes, besides the mine of 
that name, the St. Lawrence and the so-called Chambers Syndicate mines. Of 
the precious metals Montana is also on of the largest producers, her yield 
of silver exceeded only by that of Colorado. Of gold, silver, lead, and 
copper her total output for the decade ending with 1890 was estimated at 
$250,000,000, of which more than two-thirds consisted of gold and silver. 
In that year was claimed for this state the largest gold mine, the largest 
silver mine, and the largest copper mine in the country, and in the 
following year the volume and value of mining products were the largest 
yet recorded. 

Of the several hundreds of exhibits displayed in the Montana section, more 
than sixty consist of copper and silver-copper ores, both metal and 
mineral being displayed in every phase of production from sulphides 

Page 486

and matte to sheet, tube, wire, and other manufactured forms. Of silver, 
gold, and silver-lead ores thousands of specimens are exhibited by more 
than 400 contributors. There is also the largest collection of nuggets 
contained in the Mining hall, one of them weighing nearly 48 ounces, and 
with 96 percent of pure gold. Near it is a display of gold crystals, 
sapphires, and garnets from El Dorado bar on the Missouri, and within a 
few mile of Helena, and in another case are trays of gold-dust from the 
placers, each one holding about $1,800 worth of metal. Of coal there are 
many samples, and the building and other stones and minerals of economic 
value include granite, marble, porphyry, limestone, clays, gypsum, 
sulphur, graphite, and asbestos. 

The state has a large and valuable collection, among which are silver, 
silver-lead and iron ores, and surface copper; marble and other building 
stones; yellow and red ochre, manganese, malachite, chrysolite, 
tourmaline, dendrites, stalactites, rhyolite, rose and agatized quartz, 
garnets, jasper, and chalcedony. In a tin brick weighing some thirteen 
pounds, made by the students of the college of Montana, is represented the 
yield of that metal for 1892. Another curiosity is an old wooden cam which 
did service in 1864 at a four-stamp mill on Grasshopper creek, in the 
Bannack district, where two years before were discovered its placers and 
quartz ledges. 

But the centre of attraction is Montana's beautiful pavilion, at the 
entrance of which stands a case of specimens from the Elkhorn district, is 
the statue of Justice, fashioned of native silver, and with orthodox 
scales and sword. In this statue, placed under a canopy of maroon velvet, 
in the centre of the pavilion, and guarded by two bronze lions, was used 
nearly a ton of sterling silver, the figure resting on a silver globe, 
beneath which is an eagle with outstretched wings. The lower portion of 
the pedestal is of ebony, and upon this is a plinth of pure gold, more 
than two feet square, and representing, as is said, a value of $250,000. 
The model selected for this, the largest silver statue in the world, was 
the actress Ada Rehan, whose stately and opulent form is cast in heroic 
mold. Behind the statue is a structure fashioned of copper bars; on the 
walls the more prominent mining centres are reproduced in photographs, and 
at the back a painting, named A Good Strike, represents the scene which 
its title indicates. 

Colorado is well represented, as befits a state which in 1892 produced $5,
500,000 in gold and more than $30,000,000 in silver, taking the lead of 
all other sections in her output of the preciuos metals. Of coal the 
production increased from 4,500 tons in 1870 to 3,800,000 tons in 1892; of 
iron the yield for the latter year was 32,000 tons; of lead, 61,000, and 
of copper 3,600 tons. Add to this her wealth of building and other 
valuable stones, her carnelian, chalcedony, onyx, jasper, jet, and agate; 
her petroleum deposits, almost rivalling those of Pennsylvania, and 
already producing at the rate of several millions of gallons a year, and 
it will be seen that Colorad is not wanting in mineral resources. 

The section allotted the centennial state, adjacent to the southern portal 
of the building, is faced along the aisles with marble, and on either side 
of the main entrance are polished granite pillars with capitals of red 
sandstone. Within is a circle of columns fashioned of various building 
stones, and a pillar of granite surmounted by a globe, and a massive coal 
trophy, eight feet square at the base and twenty-four in height, dominate 
the entire display. Two side of the structure are lines with cases filled 
with specimens of ore, and masses of gold and silver bearing quartz are 
grouped along the aisles, while in the centre, wire, nugget, placer, and 
other forms of gold from the Breckenridge district are freely displayed, 
together with gold and silver roses from a Denver exhibitor. 

Among the many thousands of cabinet specimens contained in this 
collection, including those in the gallery, a large proportion was 
furnished by the state school of mines at Golden, and from the Colorado 
scientific society are samples of eruptive rocks and meteorite, forming 
together a most valuable and comprehensive assortment. From the more 
prominent mines there are also contributions, and from business, 
manufacturing, and other firms and companies are exhibits of coal, coke, 
iron, marble, building stone, slate, clay, asphaltum, petroleum, mineral 
waters, and other products, together with smelting and refining processes. 
Above the cabinets are photographs of the principal mining regions, and of 
buildings fashioned of Colorado stone, while in map form are depictured 
the geological and topographical features of the state. 

Page 487

From Aspen come samples of silver ore that from 70 to as much as 20,000 
ounces to the ton, the latter rather an exhibit of metal than of metal 
bearing rock. From Leadville are also some high grade specimens from the 
Chyrsolite mine, especially of bromo-chlorides; Forest city sends 
carbonates that assay 2,500 ounces, and the Lion mine carbonate ores 
almost as valuable. Of auriferous ores there is also a large collection, 
including ore from the Elkton mine containing more than $7,000 to the ton 
in free gold; from the Blue Bird mine telluride which yields up to $1,200 
a ton, and others whose average varies from $7 or $8 to $1,100. Of 
turquoise there are beautiful specimens from the Blue Gem mine at Villa 
grove, and in a word nearly all the minerals of economic value, contained 
in the centennial state are here on exposition. 

Arizona's exhibits, adjoining the Colorado section, are displayed to 
excellent advantage on a raised platform, in the centre of which is a 
monument of copper ore, in rich colors of blue and green, one of the 
specimens of which it is composed weighing nearly 7,000 pounds, and the 
smallest exceeding 800 pounds. Around it are cases of cuprite, azurite, 
malachite, and other minerals of brilliant hue, some of the samples from 
the Holbrook mine, where is a cave of stalactite, being covered with 
incrustations of silver. In blocks of ore assaying from 30 to 70 percent 
are represented all the more prominent copper mines of Arizona, whose 
total yield for 1892 was estimated at 19,000 tons. The metal itself is 
shown in the form of bricks, bars, sheets, rolls, plates, wires, and all 
other forms in which it is manufactured, and from one of the exhibiting 
companies are models of its mines and apparatus. 

Of gold and silver ores of silver and lead there are nearly 100 
exhibitors, one piece of gold ore assaying a dollar to the pound; and from 
Cochise county, which furnishes the bulk of the collection, are a few gold 
nuggets, and a sample of onyx nearly eight feet long by two in width; 
while Mohave county, which is also well represented, presents specimens of 
agate and silver glance or sulphurets. Sandstone of finest grain is shown 
in the form of slabs and pillars, and there are portions of petrified 
trees, some of them beautifully polished. 

Almost in the centre of New Mexico's section is a structure composed 
entirely of native ores in the form of a miner's cabin, and near it are 
relief models of several prominent mines. Beyond are pictures of the 
typical miner in orthodox costume, and with his patient and long-suffering 
burro. Here and in the western galleries is a large collection of 
minerals, including all the varieties discovered since, in 1832, were 
extracted from the so-called old placers a few thousand dollars worth of 
gold. Nearly all the metals common to the Pacific slope are contained in 
these sections, the greater number of the exhibits consisting of gold, 
silver, silver-lead, and copper ores; while coat is represented in the 
form of a pyramid, its materials furnished by the Madrid mines, the 
property of a railway company. 

Page 488

Coal is the feature in Wyoming's exhibit, representing an industry whose 
output for 1892 was 94,000 tons. Iron and copper are widely distributed; 
but neither have been as yet extensively worked, though in Albany county 
is a mountain of ferruginous rock assaying as high as 80 percent of metal. 
Petroleum is found near the surface in many localities; near Laramie is a 
large deposit of mica; building stone is abundant; agates, amethysts, and 
other valuable stones have been found in the valley of the Sweetwater 
river; plumbago and graphite, soda, sulphur, asphaltum, and asbestos are 
among Wyoming's minerals, and the precious metals are found in many 
portions of the state. All these are represented in her pavilion, in which 
the central point of interest is a shaft of coal from the Black hills 
mines, most of the material furnished by the Union Pacific Coal company's 
work at Rock springs. The Wyoming Railway and Iron company has a large 
collection of ores; asphaltum is freely displayed, and in glass tubes are 
the various grades of petroleum manufactured by the Black Hills Oil 
company. 

In addition to those already mentioned, California, New Mexico, Nevada, 
and Colorado have exhibits in the northwestern galleries, consisting 
principally of cabinet specimens, covering the entire field of their 
mineral wealth. Nevada, to which no space was allotted on the ground 
floor, occupies the largest area, the White Pine district making an 
elaborate display. In quartz crystals and ornamental stones the collection 
is especially rich. The Gunnison region of Colorado sends many specimens; 
but the feature in this section is the heroic figure of the Silver Queen 
of the World, seated in a triumphal car of silver, the canopy overhead and 
the foundation upon which it rests being richly encrusted with powdered 
crystals. This foundation serves as the entablature of several marble 
pillars, those at the main entrance being arranged in pairs. Cupids 
precede the chariot, scattering as they run disks of gold and silver, each 
piece as it falls from their cornucopias displaying the watchword, Free 
Coinage. Beneath their feet and upon the front of the structure are 
skillfully fashioned in mineral substances the words, Aspen, Colorado; and 
specimens and gems are tastefully displayed. 

First among the exhibits of foreign participants may be mentioned 
Germany's elaborate display, one in which are fully illustrated the mining 
and metallurgical industries of an empire which ranks first among the 
continental nations of Europe, her volume and value of production exceeded 
only by that of England and the United States. Of gold and silver 
extracted from native ores the yield is inconsiderable; but from imported 
ores there were produced in 1890 several thousand pounds' weight of gold, 
and of silver, in connection with the smelting of lead and copper, more 
than 400 tons. Of coal the German output for 1892 was 71,000,000 

Page 489

tons; of pig iron, 4,900,000 tons; of sulphur and sulphuric acid, 437,000; 
of zinc, 140,000; of lead, 98,000, and of copper, 25,000 tons; these 
representing the principal economic minerals whose product was valued for 
that year at about $225,00,000. Copper is largely imported, the only 
important deposit being a vein of cupriferous schist in the Mansfield 
mines, of inferior quality, but largely utilized through elaborate mining 
processes; for the Germans have no superiors as metallurgists, the 
inception of this science dating far back to the prehistoric era of the 
fatherland, and in the middle ages attaining a higher development than 
elsewhere in the world. 

The German exhibits are divided between the ground and gallery floors, the 
latter containing chiefly such as pertain to metallurgy and mining 
processes and apparatus. A considerable portion of the ground floor space 
is occupied by the Stumm pavilion, at the entrance of which is a massive 
iron gateway, surmounted by the heroic figure of a blacksmith, with fire-
breathing dragons at his feet. Within is a large metal basin, on which are 
the brawny figures of workers in iron, assisted by sturdy lads, one of 
whom is helping to grasp with his tongs a bar just issuing from the 
roller, while he other is pushing a cart filled with molten ore. Above 
this group is a bust of Baron Stumm, the founder of the works from which 
it came, the Vereinigte Eisenwerke of Neunkirchen, one of the largest of 
Prussian foundries, employing several thousand hands, and producing an 
enormous quantity of manufactured iron. Among its exhibits, which form one 
of the most imposing collections in the hall of Mining, is a portico of 
cast iron pipes, flanked by obelisks of rolled an forged iron, the metal 
being displayed in many structural forms, including coils of wire towering 
like some huge tropical plant, almost to the roof of the building. In the 
background is a terrace of rails, and above it a cold-bent specimen, 
stretching in serpentine form along the rear walls. Here also is 
reproduced the iron superstructure of the Gotthard railway station, and 
near by are models of the mills and the dwelling occupied by mechanics. 

Near the southern portal of the hall, not far from the Colorado section, 
is an imposing structure composed of seamless steel tubes, erected by the 
Mannesmann works of Berlin. The exhibit consists of tubing for boilers and 
pipe lines, whether for oil, gas, water, or steam, and hollow tapered 
poles for telephone, telegraph, electric light, and electric railway 
purposes. The special feature in these articles is that all are rolled 
from solid blocks by a patented spiral process, which causes the fibres to 
twist into a rope-like and extremely tough material. 

Elsewhere in Germany's section are specimens from her quarries and coal 
mines, with coal tar, oils, and paraffine, graphite and its products, and 
ornamental specimens of zinc. A Heidelberg firm has erected an elaborate 
structure composed of cement and gravel, though seemingly fashioned of 
limestone of a bluish tint. At the entrance is an archway with female 
figures in classic pose. Of cements there are several exhibits, and in the 
display of a Berlin laboratory are machines and apparatus for comparative 
tests of this compound, especially of the Portland variety, the 
experiments conducted in accordance with regulations framed by the 
government. By the Lehrte and Misburg firm of Manske and company was 
erected, near the live-stock pavilion, a portal of artificial sandstone, 
on which is a heroic statue of Germania, its flooring and stairway made of 
slabs of cement, and with piles of casks containing the manufactured 
articles. 

In the gallery the German division is in compartments, in one of which is 
a tall gilded shaft, its face 

Page 490

representing in sections the relative yield of mineral products. Amber is 
freely displayed, and in many of the specimens are imbedded various forms 
of insect life. Other attractions are a tower of iron ores, a model of the 
Royal Prussian salt-works, and a scientific collection of crystals, with 
models of crystalline forms, showing geometric figures in different 
minerals and their interior lines of contact. But the feature of the 
gallery groups is the models of mines, illustrative of processes and 
apparatus, and especially of coal mines, by which are produced so large a 
portion of the mineral wealth of the empire. The last are contained in the 
general exhibit of Prussian mining, some of them showing the method of 
wetting the face of the works so as to prevent the spread of fire-damp. 
Here also is shown a coal dressing plant at the royal mines at Saarbruck, 
with a drift run in the Konig colliery to test the use of explosives in 
the presence of fire-damp. 

Coal and iron are the principal mining products of the British isles, the 
value of the former being more than six times that of the latter even in 
metallic form, while the annual yield of pig and bar iron represents 
nearly 90 percent of the total value of all metals produced from native 
ores. In 1891 there were extracted 185,000,000 tons of coal, worth $350,
000,000, and giving employment directly to 650,000 miners and laborers; of 
iron ore nearly 13,000,000 tons were worked into $58,000,000 worth of 
metal; of lead the output was 32,000 tons; of tin and zinc, each about 9,
000, and of copper only 700 tons. The last of these metals is now almost 
entirely imported, its production steadily decreasing since 1855, in which 
year the production was 21,000 tons. Meanwhile the steadily increasing 
yield of the United States, Chile, Australia, and other countries had 
diminished the price by nearly 60 percent; this, with the gradual 
exhaustion of the larger deposits, causing a virtual cessation of copper 
mining in Great Britain. Of iron the production also shows a decrease of 
about 20 percent within the last fifteen years, and with a more serious 
decline in value. Of non-metallic minerals apart from coal, and consisting 
mainly of building and other stones, clays, gypsum, salt, and oil shale, 
the yield may be estimated at $70,000,000, and the entire mineral yield of 
Great Britain is nor far short of $450,000,000. Silver, found in 
combination with lead ores, is produced at the rate of 200,000 or 300,000 
ounces at year, and of gold a few hundred ounces have taken from low grade 
deposits in Wales, while from a mine in Wicklow county, Ireland, have come 
a few ounces, costing perhaps fifty times their value to extract. 

Page 491

First among the British exhibits may be mentioned the large collections of 
minerals, somewhat too widely scattered around the pavilion, but 
representing together all the minerals of economic value found in the 
United Kingdom. Among them are many specimens of interest to the 
scientist, as of the blue-ball clays used for a century or more in the 
manufacture of the finest descriptions of earthenware; flint and flint 
implements such as Britain has produced from time immemorial, jet from jet 
shale in Yorkshire beds, and auriferous quartz with its encasing rock from 
North Wales. The processes of smelting lead and copper ores are shown in 
samples from metallurgical works, the former both by reverberatory and 
blast furnace methods, and the metallurgy of nickel is displayed in 
samples from a Birmingham establishment, while Sheffield and Bradford 
firms show how steel and iron are wrought into various forms. 

Among the blocks of coal is one second only to the Washington specimen, 
contained in her state pavilion and presently to be described, the former 
weighing more than 28,000 pounds and containing 350 cubic feet. Of 
building and ornamental stones there are slate and granite, the latter in 
many shapes, as polished columns, monuments, crosses, and concrete, paving 
blocks, with porphyry from ancient Egyptian quarries worked by a London 
firm as concessionaires. Another group consists of Portland and other 
cements, limestone, and artificial stones. Fire clays and fire bricks are 
freely exhibited, as also are kaolin and fuller's earth in its crude and 
manufactured state. Iron, copper, lead, cobalt, antimony, manganese are 
among the samples in the collections above referred to, and elsewhere are 
salt in display and decorative forms, and an assortment of grinding, 
abrading, and polishing substances and apparatus. While in some respects a 
creditable exhibit, the British section does not worthily represent the 
great variety and volume of the mineral products of that country. 

To much better advantage appears the dominion of Canada, in her ample 
space to the north of the British division, and extending thence beneath 
the gallery floor. In this section a large area is devoted to the 
collections of the Geological and Natural History survey at Ottawa, and of 
the several provincial governments, including British Columbia and the 
Northwest territories. In these are included all the economic minerals 
contained in the dominion, some of them here for the first time placed on 
exposition. From the Sudbury district in Ontario comes an ingot of pure 
nickel weighing 4,500 pounds, with ores and mattes sufficient to give 
color to the superintendent's opinion that nickel will take the place of 
tin in the manufacture of household utensils. The ores are mainly of the 
pyrrhotite description, and of these there are samples from other Ontario 
mines. Of gold and gold bearing rock the 

Page 492

province sends many specimens most of them from her government collection, 
and of native silver, silver ores, and argentiferous galenas the exhibits 
are almost as numerous. Of platinum there is a small display, and of 
antimony a single specimen from a vein where it is found in combination 
with silver, lead, and sulphur. There is zinc blende from the Thunder Bay 
district on the northern shore of Lake Superior. Iron in the form of 
magnetite, hematites, bog-iron, and magnetic iron sand comes from several 
score of deposits. 

Copper and copper ores and pyrites are in plentiful supply, the largest 
mass being of copper-nickel ore, weighing 12,000 pounds, and forming, with 
other blocks of copper and nickel bearing rock, a trophy display from the 
Canadian Copper company. There is a profusion of building and ornamental 
stones, of clays, marls, and kaolin; of graphite, steatite, actinolite, 
and molybdenite; with salt, gypsum, quicklime, and hydraulic cement. 
Apatite, or phosphate of lime, is prominent among the group of fertilizing 
substances. The Imperial Oil company has a large assortment of petroleum 
and its products. Asbestos is a feature in the Ontario section, as also 
are the sheets of mica and the delicately tinted variety known as amber 
mica, of which there is a crystal weighing 400 pounds from the Godfrey 
mine in Frontenac county, where in the Sydenham district similar crystals 
have been found six feet in diameter and with a weight of several tons. 

In the exhibits of other provinces those of Ontario are in a measure 
duplicated. Quebec's collection rivals that of the sister province, 
especially in the display of asbestos, mica, plumbago, phosphates, 
building stones, and iron ores, the last from the Canada Iron Furnace 
company of Montreal. Among New Brunswick specimens are red granite, 
freestone, and other building stones, with gypsum and plaster. In the Nova 
Scotia department are many samples of gold and gold-bearing ores, some of 
the latter assaying many thousand dollars to the ton. In the central court 
of the Canadian section is displayed in pyramids of gilded blocks the 
yield of gold in the several provinces since first it was discovered in 
British Columbia. Here is represented the output of that province, 
amounting since 1858 to more than $53,000,000, with a production since 
1862 of about $9,000,000 from the Cambrian rock formations on the eastern 
coat of Nova Scotia, and smaller amounts from Quebec, Ontario, and the 
Northwest territories, the last producing only since 1889. In numerous 
samples Nova Scotia shows her wealth in coal, for here are some of the 
largest carboniferous deposits in the world, one of the mines running far 
under the bed of the Atlantic, and with seams of extraordinary richness. 
British Columbia and the Northwest have also many specimens of bituminous 
and anthracite coal, and from the latter are samples of coal tar, 
petroleum, clay, and building stone. Finally there are shown in 
topographical and geological charts, in sectional maps, in photographs and 
drawings, the locations of mineral regions, together with the more 
prominent mines, their workings and processes. 

With all her wealth of resources, it is somewhat remarkable that Canada 
imports more largely than she produces of minerals and their manufactures. 
First on the list of her products is coal, of which 3,400,000 tons were 
extracted in 1891, and next in the order names, in relative value, are 
copper, gold, petroleum, asbestos, iron, and silver. For that year her 
mining output was estimated at $20,400,000, against $25,000,000 of 
imports, the latter mainly in the form of manufactured iron and steel, 
which alone amounted to $14,000,000. Ontario is especially rich in 
minerals; and here have been recently discovered immense deposits of 
nickel, especially in the Sudbury district, whence, though the ores are of 
low grade, yielding on an average less than three percent, $2,700,000 
worth of that metal were exported in 1891. Of iron, chiefly in the form of 
magnetites and hematites, and in quality equal to the best of Swedish, 
there are large and valuable strata. Coal is widely distributed throughout 
the dominion, the area of coal-bearing lands in the Northwest territories 
being estimated at 65,000 square miles. 

From the far north let us turn to the great southern continent, where 
beneath the 

Page 493

Southern Cross is a land abounding in mineral resources. As in other 
departments of the Fair, New South Wales is the only Australian colony 
represented in the mining division, but in this section is fully 
illustrated the mineral wealth of a country which has thus far produced a 
larger amount of gold than all the Pacific states. Since, in 1851, a 
luckless prospector, observing that the California placers were found amid 
geological formations closely resembling those which he had seen in 
Australia, and taking ship fro that country straightway discovered gold, 
the southern continent has added more than $1,600,000,000 to the world's 
stock of the precious metals. Victoria is the largest producer, her total 
yield up to the close of 1892 being estimated at $1,300,000,000, and of 
the remainder nearly $200,000,000 is accredited to New South Wales, whose 
output for the decade ending with 1860, to less than half that amount for 
the ten years ending with 1890. The discovery of large silver deposits in 
the latter colony is of comparatively recent date, and yet from a single 
district were extracted in 1892 nearly $12,000,000 of that metal, with 
more than 40,000 tons of lead. 

By visitors of all nationalities it is conceded that the exhibits of New 
South Wales form one of the most interesting and comprehensive collections 
in the hall of Mining, far surpassing those of Great Britain and other 
countries whose appropriations were of much larger amount. In several 
thousand packages were forwarded hundreds of tons of specimens, consisting 
largely of gold in every conceivable form, but including also many samples 
of silver and silver ores, of coal, iron, copper, lead, antimony, bismuth, 
and cobalt, with building, ornamental and precious stones, mineral paints, 
petroleum, cement and lime, and diamond-bearing earth. 

At the entrance of the pavilion, fronting on the central nave and north of 
the Canadian section, is a pillar of frosted silver from the Broken Hills 
Silver Mining company, whose veins bid fair to rival the far famed lodes 
of Potosi.(1) The shaft is festooned with garlands and surmounted by a 
figure of Atlas, supporting his customary burden, with masses of ore at 
its base, and on one side minor structures of copper, tin, antimony, and 
silver. From the government collection are silver ores and blocks, and in 
a nugget of virgin gold is represented $6,000 worth of that metal, with 
gold quartz assaying 258 ounces to the ton. To the exhibit of private 
stones there are contributions from several private collections, and of 
special value is the display of opals. 

In the background of this section are inscribed on a lofty wall statistics 
as to the mineral yield of New South Wales. Here the visitor may learn 
that this colony has produced gold to the value of $187,000,000; silver 
and lead, $54,000,000; coal, $124,000,000; tin, $46,000,000; copper, $29,
000,000; iron, $1,800,000; and petroleum and other mineral oils, $6,000,
000. Add to these the value of other products of the mine, and we have a 
total yield of at least $500,000,000, for a country whose population in 
1892 did not exceed 1,200,000 souls. 

Beneath these figures are pillars of various minerals, one of them in the 
form of a vertical section of kerosene shale. Coal is liberally 
represented in columns, blocks, and smaller specimens, and in diagram form 
are shown the thickness of seams and geologic formations of the more 
prominent districts. Elsewhere are tin, copper, antimony, bismuth, 
mercury, and iron ores, some of them arranged in structural forms, with 
ingots and bars of tin and copper, and specimens of the tin-bearing 
granites of New South Wales, which closely resemble the Cornish formations 
on the southwestern coast of England, whence tin was extracted long before 
Boadicea did battle with the Roman legions. Building stones are freely 
displayed, as also are clays and bricks, and in the form of an entrance 
way are specimen blocks of colonial marble. 

Though as a mining country France does not compare with Great Britain or 
Germany, her production of metals and minerals is very considerable, the 
yield for 1892 being valued at more than $90,000,000. Of coal the output 
for that year 

Page 495

was estimated at 26,000,000 tons and yet with imports of 10,000,000 tons, 
thus making an average consumption of nearly a ton a year per capita of 
her population. Of pig iron the annual product is about 2,000,000, and 
among other metals the largest yield is of zinc, lead, and copper, with a 
few kilograms of gold and a large amount of silver from imported ores. 

The French section is adjacent on the north to that of New South Wales; a 
feature of it is an exhibit from what is claimed to be the only mine in 
the world which produces pure carbonate of magnesia. Among the more 
artistic collections are bronzes, enamelled tiles, and casts showing the 
quality of molding sands. Cement is largely represented; a Bordeaux mine-
owner has a display of manganese, and a few samples of slate, coal, and 
patent fuels almost complete the list of what France has to show in the 
Mining hall in the way of native products. In common with Great Britain 
and some other foreign participants, France is not worthily represented in 
this department of the Fair, a large portion of her space being covered by 
a rustic pavilion, with a group of aquatic plants in the centre, affording 
a place of rest for weary sight-seers. From the Laurium mines in Greece, 
controlled by Frenchmen, are massive specimens of silver, lead, and zinc, 
and from New Caledonia a collection of nickel ores, chrome, and cobalt. 

In the Austrian section, west of the French pavilion, are several exhibits 
worthy of note. The mineral waters of Carlsbad are contained in vessels 
fashioned in the shape of a pavilion, which presents in dioramic form this 
noted resort, with the lofty mountains that surround it. On the outer 
walls are depicted in detail the hotels, drinking booths, and 
architectural features of the place. But it is in iron and steel that 
Austria makes the best display, noticeable among her exhibits being a 
hexagonal structure of crucible steel, known as the Poldi variety. The 
posts, eighteen feet in height, were hammered from ingots, a centre-piece 
and several cases within representing various commercial forms of the 
metal, with sections fractured to show the uniformity of the material. 
Another exhibitor advertises his schythes by cutting sheets with their 
keen edges and on the wall of the aisle is a sheet of iron 160 feet long, 
a yard in width, and one-twelfth of an inch in thickness, said to be one 
of the largest plates ever rolled. This, as well as the Poldi steel, comes 
from Bohemia, whose metal-workers are almost as famous as those who 
produce the beautiful glass-ware displayed in the hall of Manufactures. 

A feature in the Italian section adjacent to the Canadian groups is a 
translucent mound of alabaster, composed of blocks as taken from the 
quarries, side by side with which are beautiful statuettes and other 
sculptured forms. An admirable piece of work in their vicinity is the 
leaning tower of Pisa, cut from a block of alabaster extracted near that 
city. There are also many specimens of the famous marbles of Italy, 
including a large octagonal font, which for more than three centuries 
stood in the convent of Gesu e Maria at Rome. This is made of the Claudian 
variety, one largely used by the Roman Catholic church, as in the cross on 
the "holy gate" of St. Peters, and the consecrated stones of the altar. 
Sulphur from the Vesuvius and other districts is displayed in blocks and 
powders, with asphaltum, bitumen, and petroleum, also 

Page 496

from volcanic regions, and tiles of cement richly colored and ornamented 
with geometric designs. 

The Grecian section was originally allotted to the United States of 
Columbia, which account for its position among the Spanish and Latin-
American exhibits. The display, although small, is suggestive, containing 
as it does contributions from the famous Laurium mines near Athens, whose 
treasures in the ancient days of her naval supremacy went far toward 
building her fleets and supporting her citizens in luxury. They are now 
controlled as I have said by a French company, which also exhibit 
brimstone and sulphur in ores and powders. Elsewhere are magnesite blocks, 
with emery and lead in crude and manufactured forms. Marbles from the 
classic isle of Scyros present a business-like aspect, as though 
advertising themselves, and an altar of Athenian marble is erected by the 
committee of Olympus, not in honor of the gods but of the Columbian 
Exposition. 

In the western vestibule of the hall are three large gilded cubes, the 
inscriptions upon which inform us that since 1745, when Russian gold was 
first mined in commercial quantities, the empire has produced more than 1,
800 tons of that metal, Siberia furnishing nearly three-fourths. South of 
this monument are shown in specimens and photographs the varied mineral 
resources of a domain which covers one-sixth of the entire land surface of 
the globe, one side being occupied with a row of cases in which are 
hundreds of bronze figures symbolic of civilization and barbarism. A 
shaggy-coated bear rears his unwieldy form beside the figure of a 
nobleman, and a gaunt wolf crouches near the feet of a richly attired 
lady. Horses, stags, and dogs, peasants and high officials, princes and 
Cossacks, with typical representatives of various classes are here 
reproduced in miniature. The iron works of the Ural and other noted 
districts have also contributed of their ores and first forms of 
manufacture, and a fine display is made of swords and cutlery, many of the 
articles with handles of skillful design and workmanship. Maps indicate 
the most promising and productive districts for gold, coal, petroleum, 
salt, iron, copper, and other minerals. There are also photographs of the 
more valuable mines of coal and rock salt, and near one of the entrances 
are massive specimens of the latter, in contrast with which blocks of 
black marble display their shining surfaces. 

Adjacent to the Russia section on the north is the small space in which 
Japan reveals her mineral wealth, as yet but little developed. The 
entrance-ways are in rustic form, and within is a tastefully arranged, 
instructive, and unique exhibit. In the centre are ingeniously constructed 
models showing the cross sections of mines as worked in ancient and modern 
times. Front views are also given representing a dark cave which forms the 
inlet to the old mine, and an ornate pavilion through which one passes 
into the other. Japanese miners are shown in the narrowest of galleries, 
lying upon their backs or stomachs, working like slaves, and exposed to 
all the dangers of caves and explosions, while the tools and apparatus for 
extracting ore and pumping water are of the most primitive kind. As Japan 
has recently adopted modern machinery and methods of timbering, the 
interior view of the mine of today presents no remarkable features, the 
chief interest centring in the skillful workmanship of the model. Close at 
hand are specimens of coal and copper, silver and gold in the ore and 
leaf, antimony, commercial clays, variegated marble, graphite, sulphur, 
native and refined, and table salt in plain and ornamental forms, the 
first two articles representing an annual yield of about $10,000,000. 
Among the minerals displayed in manufactured forms are crucibles made of 
graphite. There are also photographs of some of the most productive mines, 
and maps showing the location of coal-fields and collieries, as well as 
the geological distribution of soils, while specimens of the soils 
themselves may also be examined, the entire exhibit mainly organized by 
the mining and geological bureaus. 

Page 497

In the southwestern portion of the hall are the exhibits of Spain and 
Latin-American countries. The display made by the former consists of 
massive specimens of lead ore, with primary manufactures of lead, samples 
of copper, phosphates, salt, slate, marble, and many other minerals. There 
is also Cuban asphalt, which contains 70 percent of bitumen, and is said 
to possess great commercial possibilities. Among the decorative features 
in the Spanish pavilion is a large array of mining tools, tastefully 
grouped at various points. 

Elsewhere among these groups is sufficient evidence that the republican 
offspring of Spain are by no means lacking in enterprise. A pyramid in the 
centre of Brazil's pavilion represents the output in gold of the once 
famous Minas Geraes, which during the early part of the eighteenth century 
produced $700,000,000 of that metal. Around its base are several varieties 
of marble and granite, while in trophy and other forms the coal mines of 
Rio Grande do Sul illustrate the mineral wealth of the country. Mica, 
quartz, and asbestos are shown in many beautiful shapes, together with 
lead and copper ores, and the display of gems, though brilliant, attracts 
less attention than a remarkable stone of elastic qualities, of which 
there are abundant deposites in the state of Minas Geraes. 

The live-stock and agricultural interests of the Argentine Republic 
completely overshadows her mining industries, which thus far have not 
developed into commercial importance. In this department, however, the 
government bureau of mines and geology has tastefully decorated a large 
section in blue and white, installing therein specimens of marbles and 
other building stones, with clays and salts, iron and coal. The geological 
maps hung upon the walls indicate that the most promising mineral deposits 
are in the northwestern portions of the country, near the headwaters of 
the Negro and Colorado rivers. 

Ecuador and Bolivia have but a miniature display, the former presenting a 
few specimens of gold among a miscellaneous collection, while the ancient 
glories of Potosi are but feebly represented in the tiny pavilion of the 
latter, her mines, which in the sixteenth century produced as much as $80,
000,000 of silver a year being almost abandoned. The largest mines are now 
at Huanchaca, and are mainly controlled by Chilean capitalists; but their 
wealth finds little expression in the hall of Mining. Other exhibits are 
masses of crude rubber, a portrait of the president, and a large table 
made by a resident of Cuzco, who informs us that he is no cabinet maker 
but sends his handiwork, composed of the choicest varieties of native 
woods, as a contribution to the Fair. 

Nitrate of soda forms the text of Chile's exposition. It is displayed in 
various shapes, a large model of the famous works at Rosario de Huara 
showing one of the largest establishments for its manufacture in the 
world. Upon a shaft within this section are statistics as to the growth of 
this industry from 1830, when only 800 tons of nitrate were exported, 
until, in 1890, exports had increased to more than 1,000,000 tons. Not 
only is this a most important source of individual wealth, but the 
national treasury derives therefrom an annual income of $20,000,000, or 
more than one-half of its revenue. 

In Mexico nearly 4,000 mines are under regular exploitation, with others 
worked at intervals, and a vast number of abandoned claims, many of which 
if reopened would yield excellent returns. While as a rule 

Page 498

processes are somewhat primitive, modern appliances have been largely 
introduced among the more productive mines, and especially in those which 
have passed under foreign ownership. One advantage is the cheapness of 
labor, wages varying, according to the nature of the task, from 50 cents 
to $1.25 a day, the latter rate for the barrateros who extract the ore, 
sometimes receiving in addition a share of what they take out. Other 
fostering influences are the security for life and property established 
under the Diaz regime, and the building of railways, affording direct 
communication with the United States; for until recent years nearly all 
the heavier machinery was imported by way of Vera Cruz. 

The history of mining in Mexico dates almost from the time of the Spanish 
conquest, and yet her deposits of the precious metals shows no signs of 
exhaustion, the yield of those which have been abandoned being more than 
compensated by new discoveries. Between 1521 and 1891, a period of 370 
years, the total production of silver has been estimated at $3,570,000,
000, and of gold $277,000,000, while the present yield of both these 
metals may be stated at somewhat over $40,000,000; of copper, $2,500,000; 
and for other minerals, metals, and metalloids, including iron, sulphur, 
salt, mercury, clay, and ornamental and precious stones, may be added a 
value of $25,000,000, thus giving to her mining and mineral products a 
total valuation of more than $70,000,000. 

To Mexico was allotted a liberal space in the southwestern section of the 
hall, her display far surpassing those of Spain and other Spanish-American 
countries. Here, as in the Manufactures building, an attractive feature is 
the collection of ornamental stones, and especially of onyx, with a newly 
discovered variety to which has been given the name of rose garnet. The 
latter is one of the most remarkable of minerals, combining some of the 
best qualities of ornamental and building stones, and the only deposit 
thus far discovered is at Zalostoc Morelos, within 100 miles from Mexico, 
near a line of railway, and in sufficient quantity to permit systematic 
development. It is, moreover, a merchantable stone, one which, though 
harder than granite, can be easily quarried, cut, and polished, and is not 
affected by the most violent changes of temperature. Technically it is 
described as a silicate of lime and alumina, and when worked into thin 
slabs and placed in a strong light, a beautiful color effect is produced, 
the garnets largely adding to its decorative qualities. Near 

Page 499

the eastern entrance-way are pillars, slabs, and ornamental and geometric 
designs in rose garnet, while the rare beauty of its texture is further 
illustrated in a delicate plate of the mineral contained in an 
illuminating apparatus. Elsewhere the exhibits, selected with the utmost 
care through a commission appointed by the government, are for the most 
part arranged in cabinet form, many of them contained in handsome bronze 
showcases. There is also a group of ore-washing apparatus, and viewed as a 
collective exposition of mining resources and industries, the entire 
display is one of which our sister republic has good reason to be proud. 

Nowhere in the hall of Mining is there a more attractive spot than the 
Cape Colony section, south of the Brazilian exhibits; for here of an 
afternoon, between the hours of two and four, is shown the process of 
diamond washing from soil imported from the richest deposits of the 
Kimberley mines. To Americans this should be of special interest, for by 
the United States are purchased considerably more than one-half of the $20,
0,000 worth of diamonds annually produced by a single company, whose rate 
of production is thus restricted only to maintain the market value of its 
output. 

The section is surrounded by a high partition, with plate-glass windows, 
within which the earth is scattered as found in the mines; but a better 
view of the processes of washing and cutting may be obtained from an 
elevated platform, to which a stairway leads from the ground floor. First 
of all the sand is washed away from the pebbles in a larger pan or 
pulsator, and that which remains is placed in a cylinder, with spiral 
motion and apertures of various sizes, through which the pebbles are 
dropped into the sieves beneath. These operations are conducted by 
stalwart Zulus, attired in full dress Exposition costume - a cap and a 
pair of short trousers; for other garments they cannot be induced to wear. 
One of the Zulus stands guard at the gate, armed with a war club with 
massive ivory head. He is a chieftain of his tribe, a man of gigantic 
stature, and one of the impi which defeated the British troops in the days 
of King Cetshwayo. 

The pebbles are handed to the sorter, who spreads them upon a table and 
searches for the diamonds, several valuable stones being taken at times 

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from a single pan of earth. The rough diamonds are then delivered to 
manipulators for cutting and polishing, and are thus prepared for market, 
losing about half their weight through these processes, of which the 
latter is performed by a revolving plate making 2,000 revolutions to the 
minute. In a glass case are rough diamonds valued at $750,000, including 
all colors, forms, and degrees of crystallization, from deep brown to 
purest white, and with many intermediate shades, as blue, green, pink, and 
orange-yellow. There are also the black diamonds used for cutting, the 
hardest of all varieties, and such freaks of nature as the twin diamond, 
the latter exceedingly rare. Other exhibits from southern Africa are 
specimens of copper ore from Namaqualand; asbestos, whose fibres are of a 
bluish tint; and a cabinet of minerals collected in the region south of 
the Zambesi river. 

In the eastern sections of the hall, and extending into the area occupied 
by the states, is a large display of mining machinery of many patterns and 
for many uses. The most extensive exhibits are by Fraser and Chalmers, the 
Chicago Iron works, and the Gates manufactory, all of Chicago, the 
specimens form the first of these firms being among the most massive in 
the building. An imposing structure is the so-called Chilian mill for the 
crushing of gold and silver ore, its ponderous rollers, as they revolve 
upon their axis, having also a horizontal rotary motion within the huge 
metallic die. This is a sample of the score of such mills now in operation 
in Mexico and the United States, and its companions in this section are 
several huge quartz mills, a lead furnace, rollers for such fine work as 
the crushing of diamond bearing earth, and a large assortment of apparatus 
for the reduction and refining of copper ores. Of the latter mineral, 
there is a compartment filled with many beautiful specimens, the company 
also showing samples of a recently discovered alloy, known as ferro-
alumina, which is claimed to be the strongest and hardest metallic 
substance known, and is specially valuable for such castings as the shoes 
and dies of stamp mills and rock crushers. In the section occupied by the 
Chicago Iron works are apparatus for crushing quartz, for smelting ores, 
and for hoisting and pumping, while across the aisle is a crushing plant, 
installed by the Gates company, including a leviathan rock breaker with a 
capacity of 150 tons an hour. In this section is also a model in 
operation, showing the processes of crushing, elevating, screening, and 
distributing stone used for paving or ballasting. 

Elsewhere are various mills for the grinding of rocks, ores, and all other 
refractory materials, their chief distinction consisting of the various 
motions with which the rollers works in their dies. Many of the machines 
are arranged for either wet or dry grinding, some of them stationary, and 
others portable. There are also 

Page 501

mills which serve both as pulverizers and separators, with apparatus 
specially designed for the preparation of paint materials. 

The collection of drills is an interesting feature, the machines being of 
all sizes and makes, one of them for boring to a depth of a mile or more. 
Elsewhere is apparatus for sawing and polishing stone, contributors form 
the eastern and middle states being foremost in this display. Another 
group consists of chain belting and appliances for elevating and hauling 
minerals. Of this class the Jeffrey manufacturing company, of Columbus, 
Ohio, is a prominent exhibitor, its section containing, besides a large 
assortment of machinery, a model showing as section of a coal vein. 
Illustrating the method of moving ores and coal, is an underground haulage 
plant, in a tunnel beneath the southern portion of the building, composed 
of a wirerope tramway, cars, and engine furnished by several companies. At 
the further end of the hall, on the ground floor, is a system of iron 
pipes, representing an invention whereby it is claimed great savings of 
time and money would result from conveying minerals in semi-liquid form 
from mine to market, pulverized, mixed with water, piped, and then, after 
reaching their destination, pressed into solid cakes. 

In the machinery department are also exhibits of metal manufactures. 
Ploughs, rails, fence-wire, and other forms of iron and steel are 
displayed by a Pennsylvania company, the key-stone state being further 
represented by two tasteful pavilions of sheet iron, one of them 
surmounted by a golden eagle. In the official classification these 
exhibits are grouped under the head of the metallurgy of iron and steel, 
while under the 

Page 503

class designated as copper and its alloys is the pavilion constructed of 
brass and copper tubes by Randolph and Clowes, of Waterbury, Connecticut. 
The latter stands at the eastern entrance to the building, across the hall 
being the golden trophy symbolic of Russia's mines, and between the two 
the great shaft of coal from Pennsylvania. Coal is also, as I have said, 
at the base of the monument in the northern end of the hall, representing 
the mineral production of the United States for each second of time, with 
asbestos at the apex of the structure. But among all the forms of mineral 
manufacture there are none more striking than those exhibited by the H. W. 
Johns Manufacturing company of New York. In a tasteful pavilion the firm 
has a display of raw asbestos, showing also their looms in operation, with 
felt in various shapes, a fireman clad in garments of asbestos, and a 
miniature theatre curtain of the same substance, one considered as nearly 
fire-proof as textile fabrics can be. 

Near the German section, in the southwestern entresol, is the general 
exhibit of ores and other minerals, with an exposition of the modern 
processes by which the metals are extracted and transformed into 
commercial products. Along the central aisle, as a supplement to these 
object lessons, is a series of small transparencies, copies of 
cotemporaneous illustrations depicting the ancient and primitive workers 
in metals of all countries, with their rude apparatus and environment. The 
entire exhibit is the creation and special pride of the chief of the 
mining department. 

In the copper and tin section are illustrated, by photographs and 
specimens, the dry and wet processes of reduction, the tin of South Dakota 
and the copper of Montana being plentifully displayed in their crude 
forms. A company whose specialty is the refining of copper also shows its 
method of decomposition by electrical agencies. 

It is in this vicinity that Arthur C. Wendt, a New York engineer, shows 
the first of the many photographs which he has distributed almost 
throughout the entire department. Here are reproduced the works that he 
has erected at Antofagasta, Chile, for the crushing, smelting, and 

Page 504

refining of silver and copper. The Huancha company, by whom he was 
employed, is now one of the largest private producers of silver in the 
world, with a yield form its mines, since 1877, valued at more than $43,
000,000. The plant at Antofagasta includes nearly 60 furnaces, of which 
two are for the refining of silver, with many huge copper pans and 
settling tanks. 

Among these groups a New York firm presents a collection of rare coins, 
and of cruder forms of metals, with their alloys. Another New York company 
has a complete assortment of metallic nickel, salts, and alloys, while a 
Virginia factory shows artistic forms of zinc. Elsewhere, in photographs 
and models, the methods of extracting gold and silver by modern leaching 
processes are fully explained, the Russell company of Park City, Utah, 
making the largest and most interesting display. Its process is 
distinguished from the old leaching method by the use of bluestone in the 
hyposulphite solution, and of soda ash as a precipitant for lead. This may 
be applied to free and rebellious silver ores, and to silver-gold ores and 
tailings, either in the raw state or after roasting, and has been adopted 
by various mills in Mexico, Montana, Utah, and Colorado. Whatever its 
merits as compared with other processes, many expert metallurgists claim 
that the extraction of gold and silver by lixiviation, or leaching, will 
eventually supersede both the smelting of ores and the separation of the 
metals by amalgamation with the use of mercury as a dissolving agent. 

Among the exhibits of antimony and mercury, the quicksilver of New 
Almaden, California, and cinnabar ores from the golden state form the 
basis of the collection, most of the remainder coming from eastern firms. 
In this class is included the new metal called electricon, displayed by a 
New York firm as an anti-friction compound. It is generally admitted, 
however, that aluminum in some form is the coming metal of the world, and 
to this has been allotted a liberal space side by side with the groups of 
iron and steel. Aluminum is shown in composition with iron, gold, ferro-
manganese, tin, and copper, 

Page 505

as well as in many manufactured products, a reduction company of 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, occupying the largest space in this section. 
There are several exhibits on the ground floor which illustrate the 
metallurgy of iron and steel, including those which show the methods of 
manufacturing crucible and open hearth steel, the different forms of sheet 
iron and steel, steel castings, and projectiles. In the gallery are more 
compact displays, explanatory of these and such other branches as the 
chemical process of puddling, with mineral wool in all forms, furnace 
slags, samples of welding, and specimens of tools whose heads are finely 
tempered. 

Beyond the metallurgical department, in the south gallery, is a library 
containing publications of interest to the mineralogist, with a collection 
of photographs of eminent men in the domain of this practical science. 
Midway in this gallery is a large pavilion, in and around which American 
manufactures of tin and terne display their wares; and in the southeastern 
corner are assaying and testing laboratories. A Pittsburgh company shows 
chemical substances for the testing of minerals, and adjoining its 
compartment is that of a Chicago establishment, containing furnaces, blow-
pipes, and other apparatus, in the operation of which heat plays the 
leading part. 

Except for a few mineral cabinets from the eastern states, and 
miscellaneous collections from California and New Mexico, the southeastern 
galleries are virtually monopolized by the exhibits of Ward's Natural 
Science Institute of New York. To describe 

Page 506

this collection in detail would be simply to review the entire domain of 
geology, with its kindred department of mineralogy. There are several 
collections, however, of which special mention should be made. Besides 
many specimens of the precious metals, there is a case containing casts of 
gold nuggets which have become historic, the list including the Welcome 
nugget found at Ballarat, Victoria, in 1858, weighing more than 2,000 
ounces, and valued at $41,000; the Viscount and the Viscountess 
Canterbury, both also from Victoria, unearthed in 1870, and valued 
respectively at $21,000 and $17,000; the Precious, discovered during the 
succeeding year in the same district, valued at $31,000; the gold nugget 
taken in 1842 from the Ural mountains, Siberia, weighing 100 pounds and 
worth $22,000, and the mass of platinum, weight 21 pounds, found there in 
1827 and said to be the largest ever mined in a single piece. Another 
remarkable collection is contained in flat cases along the central aisle, 
including several hundred gems and ornamental stones, the more precious 
varieties represented by actual specimens or by models in glass, showing 
the exact color of the originals and the forms in which they are usually 
cut. There are similar models of the celebrated diamonds of the world, 
comprising facsimiles of fifteen historic gems, from the Polar Star, 
weighing 40 carats and belonging to the Russian Princess Youssoupoff, to 
the Koh-i-noor of the British crown, and the immense stone in the 
possession of the Great Mogul, said to weigh 297 carats. Of meteorites 
there is a large collection, and another interesting exhibit is that which 
explains the structure of the earth in specimens and geological models, 
the latter showing not only the order of stratification, but the principal 
features of erosion and displacement. 

The most noteworthy collections in the northeastern and northern galleries 
are those which consist of coal, coke, and petroleum. The northern 
entresol is mainly occupied by the Standard Oil company, which has 
transformed it into a pavilion, its walls and ceiling of a delicate cream 
color, with decorations in gold. At either end of the section is a minor 
pavilion, surmounted by a cupola, within whose colonnade is a female 
figure holding aloft a lamp of antique design. Along the front is a 
geological representation of the oil producing districts in New York and 
Pennsylvania, and against the windows at the rear is a large gallery of 
beautiful transparencies showing the manufactories of the company in 
Philadelphia, Whiting, and Lima, and its facilities for piping and 
transporting by steamer and railroad. In one corner is a pyramid of 
miniature oil barrels, representing the daily product; elsewhere are 
models showing apparatus for refining, and everywhere are glass vessels 
filled with petroleum of various grades, and for many purposes. T