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page 4 everyone and there were to be races and a greased pole climb with prizes. The boom of the hoist which raised the ore from the barge was covered with grease and a hat hung on the end. It is not known what the prize was or who won it, but several who attempted to recover it landed in the river. Only one keg of beer arrived, and a group of miners formed around it excluding all others until the keg was consumed. However, the picnic lunches and comâ€" panionship were all that was required by those people to make a memorable occasion. It was recounted by Ed Bryan that early in the third year of the operation two men who were "city slickers in old clothes" hired on at the mine and worked for a short time. Soon after their departure the word came from the stock- holders to cease operations as they had declared insolvency on May 9, 1877. In the G.S.C. report for 1882-84, this account appears: "This Company (Canadian Lead Mining and Smelting Company Limited) composed almost entirely of English stockholders commenced operations in 1874 with a capital of over $100,000. The company owned the east half of lot 3, range VIII of Lansdowne, also the mining rights of lots 4 and 5 in the same range. On lot 3 smelting houses have been erected, also two boarding houses, two blacksmith shops, one powder house, engine house, steam sawmill etc., all of which now stand as monuments of indiscretion and reck- less enthusiasm. The suspension of the works is attributable to the mismanageâ€" ment and reckless expenditure on surface works before the extent and nature of the deposit had been proved. Several of the openings that had been made on this property were visited, and judging from the amount of dead rock extracted in proportion to the excavations made, the yield of ore could not have been great. The galena appears to have been very much scattered through a calcareoâ€" barite gangue. I have since heard that the amount of ore smelted did not exceed two tons. The company remained in operation for about two years, employing from 30 to 60 men." One account names "Mr. Stockwell” as chief engineer during this period. In 1877 the assets of the company including the land and mineral rights were sold for $462. to the Frontenac Lead Mining and Smelting Co. whose trustee was none other than Francis William Stockwell. No further mining took place however and the assests were sold by public auction on Sept. 5, 1887. David Townsend Jr. bought the property at the auction for $1000. Miss Ellen O'Connor, who had worked with the cook while the mine was operating, bought the building that stood near the smelter. She had it moved to the top of the hill south of her parents home on lot 2, where it stood until it was knocked down in 1979. It was constructed with a hewn timber frame having a principal post under every upper floor joist. This is a much more substantial construction than the typical timber frame in this area which uses a principal post for every third floor joist and an extra horizontal member bearing the interâ€" vening joists. For many years after the closing, an old man used to come every summer to work alone among the mine shafts. He was known locally as "Old Barker" and stayed at Tye's on the Ellisville Road (until recently the home of Bill Brown). He is known to be English and a former army colonel. Interest was revived in the lead mine from time to time in this century. 'effort. Professors Frailich and Miller of Queen's University expressed their continued interest in the lead mines and were often guests at the O'Connor home. 1880 and 1884. based in Toronto purchased options to mine lots 3 and 4. and pumped out a shaft on lot 3. Old wheel barrows and crow bars were They were also interested in strontium deposits in lot 2 which had been worked on a small scale by William Dunwoodie and E.S. Powell in In 1928 a syndicate They brought pumps brought to the surface along with some lead. A stock promotion was begun and prospective buyers were shown around the site, but nothing came of the As late as 1948 there was a company negotiating with local land owners but no one saw fit to invest the necessary money. The tailings of the main shaft on lot 5 were broken up with hammers by Orangeand Joe Warren, and sold it by the cord as fill for the They found lumps of lead "like a butternut" in the rock, but no one seems to have preserved a sample of county road. the mineral. Today the shafts on Long Point, which are often marked by big white birch trees, are almost obliterated by They piled it SEPTEMBER by Jack Cameron September's lazy days are here And frost is coming soon The corn is standing straight and tall Beneath the Harvest moon. Gone is the warmth of summer days The lakes have lost their charm And hazy hills announce the call of winter's first alarm. The graceful swallows form in flocks Preparing for their flight And soon the cries of honking geese Will echo in the night. The trees still wear their cloaks of green A challenge to the cold, And yet must soon bedeck themselves In colors, red and gold. The shadows lengthen, and the days Are growing shorter still, And once again we mill the song Of the cheery whipâ€"poor-will. But time will pass, and soon again the debris deposited in them in the last century, and boaters and fishermen must wonder about the stone smoke Stack rising along the cedar trees on the shore. 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