Humberside Collegiate Institute - Hermes Yearbook (Toronto, Ontario Canada)

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THE I-igrewu-gf The Hollinger Mz'ne A quarter of a century ago the mineral lands of Northern Gntario lay unmolested. Until 1909, when Benny Hollinger borrowed money-to furnish himself with equipment for prospecting and forced his way north- Ward, the people looked upon the country as being too rocky to show any profit for excavating the fold that might be in those huge boulde1'S. The ore on Hollinger's staking, which made him famous in Canada's mining history, proved to be of the best quality. The production mounted each year until a great catastrophe sweptiover the north in 1911. It took the form of an enormous bush-hre. and as the Hollinger stood in the centre of a forest belt, every building was swept out. The immense cost of reorganizing the work of the mine set them back so far that for several years they made little headway. Eventually the mine was put into working order and modern structures replaced the old wooden buildings. Now, the Hollinger is pointed out as being one of the best equipped producers. Benny Hollinger did not live to -see the fulfilment of his dreams. After several years of hard toil he sold his share of the claims for a compara- tively small sum and died soon after. The mine now employs two thousand four hundred men, the majority of whom work underground. They are equipped with waterproof hats and coats and long rubber boots. Small miners' lamps, attached to their cap-bands, complete the uniform. The miners are lowered beneath the sur- face in large wood and iron cages, similar to huge boxes. These eleva- tors are worked by an electric system in the hoist-house. From this little flat-roofed house two large cables extend to the top of an immense shaft and then downward inside of the building where they are attached to the cage. Owing to the lack of air under- ground the compressive air plant is working continually to keep the tem- perature at a certain degree and pro- tect the miners from the danger of escaping gas. On being dropped into the depths of the earth, a sickening breath of warm air will greet the visitor, and upon looking around he will find him- self in a disagreeably dark place filled with eerie noises. The low rumbling thuds. often heard on the surface, tell the ground men that a blast has passed off suc- cessfully underground. VVhen a tunnel has been dug out after an explosion, the men set to work, some- times knee-deep in poisonous water. to excavate the ore which is piled into iron cars and dragged by a miniature engine over part of the one hundred and ten miles of underground railway to the cages. T Having once reached the surface the rock is sent to the crusher, where it is ground into small pieces. Iron buckets run on a railway built from the top of the crusher to the mill, and carry the ore to this building so that the mineral may be taken from the ordinary rock. Often small quan- tities of copper, silver or some other ore is found mixed with the gold. ln the mill, this, too, is separated from the mineral which is sent to the 115

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THE VIE!-2IVIEfi' my - . egy- T rearures of the Travel westward with me to Albertag take a train to Drumheller, and you will reach a spot, the fame of which has spread beyond the con- fines of our own country. The importance of the Red Deer River, a tributary of the South Saskatchewan, lies, not in its commercial value, but in its coal mines and its scientific products. As a waterway, it is of no value at all, for it is too shallow to fioat any but the smaller boats, although in some places it is three hundred yards wide. Near Morrin, Alberta, the cable ferry has sometimes to be poled across, but only in dry seasons. The river is quite swift, and in places, where the bottom has not yet been touched, there are dan- gerous under-currents. The cut-banks of the river are about two hundred feet high, and they abound in quicksands and soap- holesf, The-se are cave-like openings with wet soap at the bottom, and they are more treacherous and dan- gerous than the quicksands. Most of the Alberta coal which finds its way to Ontario comes from the Red Deer River Valley near Drum- heller. The coal is found quite near the surface--sometimes above the ground. The methods of mining are not so advanced as those in large mines, and up the river, where people dig their own coal, they use only the pick and shovel. Rarer than the coal, however, are the dinosaurs that have been found in this district by Professor Sternberg, locally known as the bone-diggerf' Near Morrin, he discovered two of his largest and best specimens, one of which is now in New York-the other Rea' ear River in Toronto Museum. These huge skeletons were almost complete-they were found just where the animals had lain down to die, on the sheltered side of the cut-banks. The bones were all well preserved, and compara- tively near the surface of the ground. Besides those of the dinosaurs, there are other petrified bones, some of which seem to belong to no known animals and which are scattered so widely that they cannot be collected. They are peculiar in their structure and colour, and hardly resemble bone-s. Even more fascinating is the petri- fied wood, almost covered with a glossy substance as hard as the wood itself. Some pieces are white or yellow and sparkling, with smooth milky blue or white material under- neath. Qthers have only the smooth covering of white and blue, making delicate twisted patterns. The wood itself is -striped with blue and green, but no two pieces are alike. lt is easily found along the banks, where it is loosely strewn on the ground. The dainty shells, white and heart- shaped, adhere so firmly to the rock that it is difficult to get them unbroken. Others, something like oyster shells, are found in the river itself. These open on a hinge at one side, but nothing has been found in them. They are white, grey, tan and black, in irregular stripes. They are not so common as the petrified shells and seem comparatively fresh and new. No tourist travelling in Alberta should pass by these interesting fossils which have brought fame to the Valley of the Red Deer River. -Zllary Jllills, I-B. 105

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ii i i i is i f.7a?5f?! XXX rf-ie Hammer rehnery. Twice a week the visitors are allowed by special permission to see the gold go through the Howing process caused by heating. It Hows as a red hot liquid into iron pans, and when it has cooled, emerges as a solid block. In the stamper,' the Hol- linger seal is pressed upon it and the gold is ready for shipment to almost any part of the world. The Hollinger has extended her search for mineral wealth into the newly-prospected lands of Kami- scotia, some twenty miles northwest of Timmins, and holds high hopes of discovering a rich vein in this area. With all this important work going on in the Hollinger, the mining region is not devoid of beauty spots. Whethei' you drive in from Timmins or arrive by train from North Bay, you will not fail to see the beautiful coloured which marks the main entrance to the mine. ln the centre of a circular garden a well-polished but exceedingly old piece of machinery stands in solitary glory. It is the iirst stamper ever used in the Hollinger. The tennis courts are situated farther along a circling road which leads to the beautiful homes of Alexander Brigham, general manager, and of John Knox, assistant manager, of the Hollinger. Many men are kept happy by employinentg the mine brings in countless riches to the Dominion annuallyg and the officials expect that for the next iifteen or twenty years the Hollinger will continue to produce the equivalent to the one hundred and forty millions in gold which she has brought to Canada in the past. fountain in front of the ofhce building, -M. Tilly, II-C. s 'Q X17 1 ,. Q if l I .Au X ,X , dl 2 k T X f T - g H Z -- 2f'X F -K 107 X NX