The Lost Mine: A Legend of the Headwaters of the Androscoggin
By Bailey K. Davis
During the long and sanguinary struggle between the English and the Indians that drifted back and forth between Maine and New Hampshire and the French rendezvous in Canada, the latter almost invariably used bullets which contained more than halt silver. These remarkable missiles became the wonder of the whites, and the source from whence they were obtained was a mystery. To this day the secret has not been learned, but how near it once came to being known is told by an old resident of Berlin.--Editor.
Before the white men settled any part of Maine or New Hampshire, there was a very powerful tribe of Indians called Penobscots. Their sachem or chief lived on what is now known as Old Town Island, which is about twelve miles above Bangor, on the Penobscot River. They were in possession of all the country watered by the Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers. There was also another tribe called the St. Francis, living in Canada, and, if tradition saith truly, these two tribes were very friendly, often intermarrying. Their great thoroughfare was the Androscoggin River, and their camping places all up and down the river were plain to be seen by the early settlers, and whenever possible these camping places were located on islands, and often the curiosity seeker would find many things to richly reward his search, perhaps not very valuable as far as dollars and cents are concerned, but valuable as relics, such as arrow-heads, spear-points, tomahawks and, quite frequently, bullets.
These arrow-heads and other things were made of jasper, a stone very hard, and wherever these camping places were one was almost sure to find many pieces of this jasper, evidently chipped from larger pieces. Now it was a source of wonder where the Indians obtained this jasper, but this was settled by William Sanborn who, sometime in the year 1859, found what has been locally known as Jasper Cave, situated on the east side of Dead River Pond, about half way up a high bluff that rises some three or four hundred feet above the level of the pond. This cave is about fourteen feet long, nine feet high and six feet wide. In all probability this entire cave was made by the Indians, to obtain this jasper for the purpose before mentioned. The vein varies in thickness from a few inches to several feet, and as there is no other place on either of the three rivers mentioned before where this jasper has been found it seems certain that this was the place where the red men, with incredible labor, obtained what was to them of far more value than silver or gold; so that when it is remembered that until they obtained firearms, knives, and other utensils of the white men, this hard stone was what they made knives and tomahawks of, besides arrow-heads and spear-points, it will be readily seen that to them this stone was very valuable.
Some years before this town was organized, Mr. Benjamin Russell came through from Newry, Me., on a hunting excursion, as far as what is now
called Old Goose-Eye Mountain, but not meeting with the success anticipated he started from that mountain to go back through to Newry, and got lost. It was four or five days before he at last found where he was, but when he did he came out on Bear River, nearly famished with hunger. When wandering around, about to descend a very steep place on the side of the mountain, and finding his hatchet a hindrance, he threw it down the declivity. To his surprise the tool embedded its edge in what looked to him a solid rock. Upon reaching the place he found that it was stuck in a vein of lead, so soft that it could be easily chipped. He stopped to cut out three or four pounds of the ore and, putting it into his pack, resumed his journey, thinking it would be an easy matter to find the isolated spot again. He did succeed in finding his way out of the wilderness, and soon after he sent some of the ore to Boston to be assayed. It was found to contain more than sixty per cent of silver. It was now evident where the Indians had found their ore for their "silver bullets." Elated over his accidental discovery, Mr. Russell started to find the place again, but after days of anxious search he failed to find any sign which revealed the lost mine. This search he repeated from time to time, but he was never able to find the place, and to this day it remains undiscovered. Without a shadow of doubt, somewhere between Old Goose-Eye and Newry lies a mine which would be a fortune to him who should find it.
There is an ancient story of a white man and an Indian who were at one time hunting on this river, somewhere near what is now Berlin Falls, and, as they got out of bullets, the Indian said, "Me get um lead, but white man no follow Indian, white man stay here sure." After some twelve hours,
the Indian returned with plenty of lead, but would not tell the white man where it was to be found. In all probability this Indian and others knew of this ore before they ever obtained firearms of the white men. Thus is accounted for the numerous places where this ore had been chopped out, as seen by Mr. Russell. Ore in its natural state cannot be chopped out as this was, for it is too hard, but after it has been melted it can be easily cut. Now in all probability this ore had been melted either by volcanic action or by the lightning, so that this vein had run out, and according to Mr. Russell's report, there was quite an area covered with this melted ore, which proved to be, by actual test, more than half silver. So this old tradition is given for what it is worth, but it seems very improbable that Mr. Russell should spend years of his life searching to again find the place where he obtained this valuable ore, if there were none. There are many men, who have hunted more or less to find this mine, but as yet it has not been discovered, and if it ever is, it is more than probable that it will be by accident.
Before the white men settled any part of Maine or New Hampshire, there was a very powerful tribe of Indians called Penobscots. Their sachem or chief lived on what is now known as Old Town Island, which is about twelve miles above Bangor, on the Penobscot River. They were in possession of all the country watered by the Penobscot, Kennebec and Androscoggin rivers. There was also another tribe called the St. Francis, living in Canada, and, if tradition saith truly, these two tribes were very friendly, often intermarrying. Their great thoroughfare was the Androscoggin River, and their camping places all up and down the river were plain to be seen by the early settlers, and whenever possible these camping places were located on islands, and often the curiosity seeker would find many things to richly reward his search, perhaps not very valuable as far as dollars and cents are concerned, but valuable as relics, such as arrow-heads, spear-points, tomahawks and, quite frequently, bullets.
These arrow-heads and other things were made of jasper, a stone very hard, and wherever these camping places were one was almost sure to find many pieces of this jasper, evidently chipped from larger pieces. Now it was a source of wonder where the Indians obtained this jasper, but this was settled by William Sanborn who, sometime in the year 1859, found what has been locally known as Jasper Cave, situated on the east side of Dead River Pond, about half way up a high bluff that rises some three or four hundred feet above the level of the pond. This cave is about fourteen feet long, nine feet high and six feet wide. In all probability this entire cave was made by the Indians, to obtain this jasper for the purpose before mentioned. The vein varies in thickness from a few inches to several feet, and as there is no other place on either of the three rivers mentioned before where this jasper has been found it seems certain that this was the place where the red men, with incredible labor, obtained what was to them of far more value than silver or gold; so that when it is remembered that until they obtained firearms, knives, and other utensils of the white men, this hard stone was what they made knives and tomahawks of, besides arrow-heads and spear-points, it will be readily seen that to them this stone was very valuable.
Some years before this town was organized, Mr. Benjamin Russell came through from Newry, Me., on a hunting excursion, as far as what is now
called Old Goose-Eye Mountain, but not meeting with the success anticipated he started from that mountain to go back through to Newry, and got lost. It was four or five days before he at last found where he was, but when he did he came out on Bear River, nearly famished with hunger. When wandering around, about to descend a very steep place on the side of the mountain, and finding his hatchet a hindrance, he threw it down the declivity. To his surprise the tool embedded its edge in what looked to him a solid rock. Upon reaching the place he found that it was stuck in a vein of lead, so soft that it could be easily chipped. He stopped to cut out three or four pounds of the ore and, putting it into his pack, resumed his journey, thinking it would be an easy matter to find the isolated spot again. He did succeed in finding his way out of the wilderness, and soon after he sent some of the ore to Boston to be assayed. It was found to contain more than sixty per cent of silver. It was now evident where the Indians had found their ore for their "silver bullets." Elated over his accidental discovery, Mr. Russell started to find the place again, but after days of anxious search he failed to find any sign which revealed the lost mine. This search he repeated from time to time, but he was never able to find the place, and to this day it remains undiscovered. Without a shadow of doubt, somewhere between Old Goose-Eye and Newry lies a mine which would be a fortune to him who should find it.
There is an ancient story of a white man and an Indian who were at one time hunting on this river, somewhere near what is now Berlin Falls, and, as they got out of bullets, the Indian said, "Me get um lead, but white man no follow Indian, white man stay here sure." After some twelve hours,
the Indian returned with plenty of lead, but would not tell the white man where it was to be found. In all probability this Indian and others knew of this ore before they ever obtained firearms of the white men. Thus is accounted for the numerous places where this ore had been chopped out, as seen by Mr. Russell. Ore in its natural state cannot be chopped out as this was, for it is too hard, but after it has been melted it can be easily cut. Now in all probability this ore had been melted either by volcanic action or by the lightning, so that this vein had run out, and according to Mr. Russell's report, there was quite an area covered with this melted ore, which proved to be, by actual test, more than half silver. So this old tradition is given for what it is worth, but it seems very improbable that Mr. Russell should spend years of his life searching to again find the place where he obtained this valuable ore, if there were none. There are many men, who have hunted more or less to find this mine, but as yet it has not been discovered, and if it ever is, it is more than probable that it will be by accident.
