COMPARATIVE ANALYSES OF STEEL ORES.

	Metallic Iron.	Sulphur.	Phosphorus.	Silica.
Typical Steel Ore	9.24⅔	.20⅔	.03⅔	6.17⅔
Lake Superior	68.48	——	.053	2.07
Iron Mountain	65.500	.016	.040	5.750
Snoqualmie	68.80⁸/₁₃	.023⁴/₁₃	.028⅔	2.61¹⁰/₁₃

This showing places the Snoqualmie ores in the front rank of American steel ores; indeed, it shows a little higher in metallic iron, and a little lower in phosphorus, than any of the others. These analyses are, of course, made from the ore proper; i.e., without any addition of the matrix, or gangue-rock, in which the ores are imbedded. With all magnetites of this type it is only in exceptional spots that much of the ore can be gotten, free from the enclosing rock. Under ordinary circumstances something like 20 per cent. of the ore sent to the furnace will be gangue-rock. There is reason to hope, however, that ere long there will be a practical method for separating the rock from the ore, and at the same time getting rid of most of the sulphur. At Cranberry, N. C., the ore is now roasted and stamped into small bits, and an experiment has been made of passing the ore through a jigger, whereby the hornblendic and other enclosing rocks were separated by the pulsations of the water, as in coal washing.

Improved processes.The Lackawanna Iron and Coal Company, Pennsylvania, has been separating the ore from the rock with good results. The same has been done at Crown Point, N. Y., Lion Mountain, near Plattsburg, N. Y., Negaunee, Mich., and Beach Glen, N. J.

The process is really one of concentration, in some respects similar to that pursued with the refractory ores of the precious and base metals. The ore is first calcined sufficiently to make it friable. It is then crushed, by a Blake or other rock-breaker, and is finally sluiced, or jigged, or both. The aim is to produce a Bessemer concentrate which would yield 60 per cent. or more metallic iron, and at the same time get rid of whatever phosphorus might be in the gangue-rock. In the best experiments the object was more than accomplished. The concentrate contained 63 per cent. of metallic iron, the middlings 55 per cent., and the tailings 16 per cent. This experiment was made with a refractory Adirondack magnetite, which was so intermixed with hornblende, quartz, mica, etc., that the ore might be described as a hornblendic gneiss, carrying a large proportion of magnetite. No doubt experience will teach some way of saving the ore that is now wasted in the tailings.

Thus we may hope to see removed in a short time the only practical difficulty in working the crystalline magnetites, such as those of Snoqualmie, and many others.

Granite.III. Granite, Limestone and Marble.—What is here called granite is really syenite. It is found high on the mountains, associated, as already intimated, with the magnetic iron ore, and with hard quartzite, porphyry, epidote, hornblende, and limestone largely marbleized. This group of rocks forms the core of the Cascade Mountains, and hence underlies all the coal-bearing rocks to the westward. The group has been assigned by some geologists to the Archæan age; but it is possible that they are metamorphosed strata of the Silurian, or some subsequent period. Some of this syenite has a large proportion of quartz, which gives it a light appearance; but in other places the hornblende crystals are of good size and in full proportion, and the feldspar is of the orthoclase variety, which gives a mixture of three colors, and makes fully as handsome a stone as the Quincy granite.

Limestone is reported as existing in some of the islands in Puget Sound, where it is burnt into lime; but I have met with no particular account of it.

Marble and limestone.The limestone and marble associated with the iron ore on the Cascade Mountains has already been alluded to. It is of fine quality, very abundant, and easily quarried. It will have great value for flux and commercial lime. It is also beautiful in color, varying from the purest white to blue, and mixtures of the two colors. In texture it is sometimes exceedingly fine grained, and in others crystallized into a true and beautiful marble, which, so far as can be judged by eye, would be well adapted to both inside and outside finishing and statuary. On Mount Logan the limestone deposit almost covers the mountain above the lower line of the iron ore, and is so exposed as to be quarried with the greatest ease.

The same association of limestone in heavy beds with iron ore seems to exist also on the Cle-ellum, as mentioned by Mr. Burch. This gentleman spoke to me, also, of a very beautiful and easily burned limestone in the Wenatchie Valley. Large beds of limestone also exist in connection with the precious and base metals, which are next to be described. In the Colville country limestone seems to abound.

Precious metals on Cascade Mountains.IV. The Precious and Base Metals.—In the Cascade Mountains, and in the mountains north of the plateau country of East Washington, and in the Cœur d'Alene Mountains, within the border of Idaho, occur numerous veins bearing gold, silver, copper, lead, sulphur and iron. Discoveries on Cascade Mountain proper have been made on both sides, chiefly in the region of the iron ore. Those at the Denny and Chair Peak mines have been most spoken of. Professor Mason, of the "Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute," Troy, New York, gives the following assay of two samples sent from the Chair Peak claim of Kelly, Wilson & Co.:

1st.	Silver	13.9 oz. per ton.
2d.	Silver	12.4
	Both	14% copper.

Professor Price, of San Francisco, also assayed a sample from the same vein.

Silver	$3.63 per ton.
	12% copper.

On Cle-ellum River.Metallic veins are found also in connection with iron ore on Cle-ellum River. Mr. Burch reports a copper and silver lode, and also two lodes of gold and silver, in this neighborhood. He reports the ores as high grade, of good, workable thickness, and outcropping for several thousand feet. There is a gray ore in the same region, the character of which has not yet been determined. This has already been mentioned as lying close to the iron ore, and may possibly be metamorphosed chalcopyrite. Mr. Burch thinks that the silver ores will run from forty to eighty ounces, while in some spots the richness is very extraordinary. The lead ore in association ranges from fifteen to forty per cent.

Large copper vein in Stevens County.The same gentleman, who is a resident of the Okinagane region, reports a remarkable lode of copper ore running due south across Stevens County, from the Canada line to the Columbia River. It shows a plain outcrop for about forty miles. The vein carries both native and gray copper and a small percentage of silver.

Precious metals on Methow River.Reports, apparently authentic, are made of numerous other veins of metal in the same region, particularly in the valley of the Methow River and the valley of the Okinagane River. The Colville region, beginning fifty miles north of Spokane Falls, is well known as a rich mining centre.

What I know of these regions I learned from the oral or written testimony of men who had seen what they described, and some of them residents of the localities.

The basin of the Methow River has been but little prospected, and although I gathered many favorable items concerning the mineral deposits there, I met but one man who had personally examined the country, and he confirmed the favorable reports. He said the ores were similar to those on the Okinagane, but were more abundant.

The rich mines of Okinagane.The Okinagane country is well known, hundreds of men having been at work there last summer, and some of its mines, particularly the Ruby and Arlington, having become notable for their richness. Among my informants are Mr. Burch and Mr. Thomas Lothian, who both reside on the Okinagane River; and also Mr. J. E. Clayton, mining engineer, who made a professional report on the country, which was printed in the Spokane Falls Review.

The mining district is on Conconnully Creek (misnamed Salmon River), which enters Okinagane River from the northwest, about twenty miles from its mouth. There are two wagon roads to the Conconnully, one from Spokane Falls, with a branch from Sprague, distance 150 miles, on which stages ran last summer. Another road starts from Ellensburg on the Yakima, and is 195 miles long. With an expenditure of a few thousand dollars on the channel of the Okinagane, the mouth of the Conconnully could be reached from the Columbia by light-draught steamers, from which a railway fifteen miles long would reach the mines. Mr. Burch says that he and his father sounded the river, and also the Columbia, and that steamers can start at Rock Island Rapids and go to the mouth of the Conconnully, and, in flush water, can ascend the creek. Mr. Clayton makes the same statement as to the river. The country rocks in the mining districts are of the same character as those associated with the iron ore on Mount Logan and the Denny Mountain—hard metamorphic and plutonic rocks.

The principal mineral lode is described by Mr. Clayton as "composed of true quartz gangue carrying the silver ore in disseminated grains of black sulphurets of silver, with some copper-silver glance, and a brittle sulphuret, resembling tennantite, giving a dark, red, powdery streak, approaching the characteristics of dark antimonial ruby silver. In addition to this is found galena and zinc-blende."

Assays made by Mr. Wm. H. Fuller, of Spokane Falls, gave for first-class ore from this lode: Silver, $186.45, and gold, $4.50 = $190.95 value per ton. Second-class ore assayed $34.16 silver and 45 cents gold. Mr. Slater thinks that one-third of the vein will yield first-class ore. It is a rich vein, averaging eight feet so far as opened. There are two or three lodes in the district. Years will be required to ascertain their limits. But all the indications point to large mining operations in the Okinagane country as soon as the transportation can be supplied.

My chief authority for the following statements concerning the Colville region is Mr. Kearney, one of the firm of Kearney Brothers, owners of the two largest mines of that country, namely, the Old Dominion and the Daisy. I incorporate some statements also from two articles published in the Spokane Falls Review, one by W. E. Sullivan, and the other by J. B. Slater.

The mines in the Colville region.The Colville region is the east end of Stevens County, the part lying east of the Columbia River and north of Spokane Falls. Its chief town (500 inhabitants) is called Colville, from the fort of that name which was situated there. It is ninety-one miles north of Spokane Falls. Between the two points there is almost a continuous valley of great productiveness. The mineral region begins at Chewelah, fifty miles north of Spokane Falls, and continues at least forty miles north of Colville. Granite, porphyry, and limestone are found here, as in the other metalliferous regions. In some cases the ores are in slate and quartz; in others, in granite and porphyry; in still others, limestone. Some of the ores are iron carbonates, carrying silver, gold, and lead in paying quantities. In other cases, as at the Old Dominion mines, the ore exists in the form of a chloride and black sulphate in limestone walls.

Rich mines of argentiferous galena were discovered last summer three or four miles east of Chewelah, and vigorously developed at numerous points. Seven miles west of Chewelah shafts were sunk on a rich vein, three feet wide, of gray copper and silver chloride. The Eagle Mine was the first discovery, and is the most noted. It is black metal, containing galena, silver, and gold. Altogether, there are said to be two hundred mining claims, more or less developed, in the district around Chewelah.

The Old Dominion Mine.The mines in the Colville district are very numerous. The Old Dominion Mine is six miles east of the town. It is on an 8-foot fissure vein, which assays 150 ounces silver, 25 per cent. galena, and $7.00 gold to the ton of ore. There are ten mines in the Old Dominion group; and Mr. Slater states that the $80,000 worth of silver reported as the product of Washington Territory in 1886, all went from the Old Dominion group.

The Daisy Mine.The Daisy Mine is twenty-four miles southward from Colville. The vein here is 25 feet wide, with a streak of ore in it 18 inches wide, which widens to 11 feet 8 inches at the bottom of the shaft. This shaft is 127 feet deep. Seventy-five feet from the top of the shaft, a tunnel has been run off horizontally in five feet of ore. The assay reported for the Daisy ore gives silver 50 ounces, gold $2.00, lead 30 per cent., and iron 25 per cent. It is self-fluxing.

Young America Company.Sixteen miles and a half northward from Colville, near the Columbia River, a rich discovery of silver-lead ore has been made by the Young America Consolidated Company. The vein averages five feet, runs northeast and southwest, and has been shafted through ore to the depth of 180 feet. A test showed 90 ounces of silver and 40 per cent. of lead. A number of other openings have been made on the lode.

The Little Dalles.The Little Dalles, thirty-eight miles north of Colville, is another neighborhood rich in mineral. The ores are galena and lead carbonate, with silver. On Bruce Creek, and east of Bruce Creek, twelve miles north of Colville, are similar veins. A smelter of twenty tons capacity has been erected at Colville, which affords encouragement to mining; but it is not satisfactory to the largest owners. Smelting should be done on a large scale, and in a centre of large business. There can be no doubt that here, also, will be a region of great activity and large production as soon as it is connected by rail with Spokane Falls.

I have indicated the mining localities on the map accompanying this Report as nearly as my information would allow, but only an approximation is expected.

Cœur d'Alene Mines.The region that just now is attracting most attention is the Cœur d'Alene country, because the mines are more developed; and they are more developed because the miners have better transportation than exists in the Colville and the other mineral regions. Some thousands of men were at work last season on the streams entering the lake, particularly on the South Fork of the Cœur d'Alene River.

At Spokane Falls I was able to get reliable information concerning the region, and would mention as chief among my authorities Mr. S. S. Glidden, at one time well known in Alabama as an able iron manufacturer, now proprietor of the Tiger Mine, on Canyon Creek, which empties into one branch of Cœur d'Alene River. By reference to the map, the following description may be readily understood:

The Cœur d'Alene Mountains, River and Lake are in Idaho Territory, near the line of Washington Territory. The drainage is through Spokane River into the Columbia. The distance from the nearest point on the lake to Spokane Falls is twenty-five miles. The Cœur d'Alene River has two branches, on both of which mining has been done, but most largely on the South Fork. Previous to 1886, all the mining on this fork was done at Eagle, Beaver, Delta, Murray, etc., and was chiefly gold placer mining, which was not particularly remunerative. Placer mining has also been done on the South Fork; but the chief ores on this branch are argentiferous galena, with some gold in quartz. A large number of claims have been worked into since the beginning in 1885, and the increase of mining population has been going on rapidly. Mr. Glidden thought that there were ten thousand people last fall in the Cœur d'Alene mining country. The veins are accessible and very thick, some of them as much as forty feet. The ores usually carry 40 to 60 per cent. of lead, 5 to 50 ounces of silver, and often about $3.00 in gold to the ton of ore. The veins are true fissures, and strike across the country rocks, which are principally porphyry and quartzite. The strike of the main veins runs parallel to the river, and at a distance of two to six miles from it. There are many cross gulches which cut the veins at right angles, and thus present vertical faces which offer the best facilities for prospecting and for mining.

The veins have been opened at so many places as to put beyond doubt their continuity on long lines, and their great abundance. In fact, the indications point to a development resembling that made near Leadville.

The large tonnage from and to the mines.Some of the ore must be concentrated, and much of it must be shipped in bulk to the reduction works. Such tonnage is considered the best possible for a railroad. The ore can be carried in any kind of car, and is not subject to theft or any sort of damage; and yet its precious character enables it to bear higher freight rates than pig-iron. There are no fluxes in the country outside of the ore itself, and it will be more economical to carry the ore out than to bring in fluxes. The smelting of the ores on the ground would be further embarrassed by the difficulty in getting fuel. The timber is in patches, and often inaccessible; hence charcoal would be costly, and there is no coke to be gotten anywhere near. The smelting of mixed ores of this sort is a very complicated process, requiring quite a number of different elements, and can be most economically conducted on a large scale, and by the mixture of various different ores. Hence the advantage of having these works at some great centre where ores of many kinds may be brought. In the establishment of such a centre, of course, reference should be had to commercial and trading facilities. A large mining community in one place and a large commercial and manufacturing community in another, involves large transportation of crude materials, and of manufactured products, of food, and of passengers.

As yet, the Cœur d'Alene mining is in its early infancy. Means of transportation are partially furnished by means of water and short narrow-gauge railroads, but they are insufficient. Shipments now are small, but they will rapidly increase, and Mr. Glidden thinks that in three years 2,000 tons of ore will come out daily, and as many tons of freight go in—certainly a splendid outlook for business.

In concluding, as I have now done, the general statement in regard to the physical resources of Washington Territory, I would remark, that all the facts stated heretofore have a close relation to the interests of the Seattle, Lake Shore and Eastern Railway and its friends, and that the remainder of this report will consist in practical applications of the facts to the railroad and personal interests involved.

CITY OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON TERRITORY.