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VOL. XXXV. CLEVELAND, MARCH 28, 1907. No. 13 EARLY USE OF LAKE SUPERIOR ORE. The Bulletin of the American Iron & Steel Association recently published a communication from Jacob Reese, of Philadelphia, which carries one back to the very beginning' of the Lake Superior iron industry. This communication was as follows: Sir:--I am surprised to read in the Bulletin, which is generally reliable, that "it was in 1872 that Lake Cham- plain ores Were first used for fettling at Pittsburg." I sold more than 10,000 tons of Champlain iron ore for fettling in Pittsburg in 1856 and 1857, and it was in use in Pittsburg many years prior to my sales. In 1856 I bought from the Cleveland Iron Mining Co., the first cargo of 800 tons of Lake Su- perior iron ore that they had brought to. Cleveland. I shipped, the ore. to Pittsburg and sold it for fettling, and from 1856 to 1860 | sold over 50,000 tons of that ore for that purpose. I bought the first two cargoes mined and brought down from Lake Supe- 'rior, and I think that I amin the prime of life, although more than 38,000,000 tons were mined and shipped in 1906. I was one of the men who promoted the first use of Lake Superior iron ore in fettling and in the blast furnace, and although the millionaires who have been developed with the ore have for- gotten me I 'still watch the develop- ment of this imraense business with great interest. Jacop REESE. Jacob Reese is deserving of a dis- tinct and honored place in the history of the American iron trade for he was a prophet crying in the wilderness. His first order was given to the Cleve- land Iron Mining Co. in 1855 and not in 1856 as he relates. It was the first real order that the Cleveland Iron Mining Co. received after the canal opened. The Sault Ste. Marie canal was opened in 1855 and the Cleveland Iron Mining Co. shippcd during that year 1,449 tons, which was the total ship- ment of the range, the Jackson Iron Co. not being prepared to ship any at_all that: year iron ore carried through the canal af- ter it was opened was in the brig Co- lumbta,) consisting. of 132) tons, ~ bie Columbia was followed by the schoon- er George Worthington three days lat- er with 322 tons, and' by the propel- ler General Taylor with 50 tons. This ore was dumped on Crawford & Price's dock, Cleveland, where it was shortly thereafter seen by Jacob Reese. He placed an order with the company for some of the ore 'at 'once; + His fret order reads: "Messrs. Hewitt &' Tuttle: 'Please deliver to EN. Parks & Co) tisty- five tons iron ore (Lake Superior). Jacob Reese. Cleveland, Sei. 20, 1855." W. J. "Gordon, president of the Cleveland Iron Mining Co., had a few days previously delivered 117 tons of this ore to W. l:. Cary foi experimen- tal use in the Orizaba Iron Works at New Castle, Pa. A few days later F. K: Beshon, | of the Orizaba Iron Works, wrote to Mr. Cary saying: "T have given the Lake Superior ore a fair trial, but am sorry to-say we had to abandon its use for the pur- pose intended." Jacob Reese iad perfect confidence in Lake Superior ore from the begin- ning and Mr. Gordon wrote to him at once and asked him to louk into the New Castle experiment. In fact, Reese was a tower of strength to the original mining companies, who were beset on all sides by persons who doubted whether the mines which they had exploited at so much cost were capable of producing a merchantable ore. Mr. Reese's reply was quite in- teresting and wis as follows: "Pittsburg, Oct. 4,.1855. W. J. Gordon, Dear Sir:--Yours of the '25th at The fitst cargo. of hand and in resly would say I have 25 tons of Lak: Superior ore coming here for the purpose of making a thor- ough trial of it..s a fixing for the fur- nace, and therefcre cannot go to New Castle at present as I desire to person- ally attend to the trial. Am not sur- -prised:to learn that they did not use ity to advantage in New Castle. Ordin- arily in fixing the ore is placed in the bottom of the furnace and subjected to sufficient heat.to melt it. The fur- nace is then allewed to cool so that- the ore becomes semi-liquid and in this pasty state it is removed from the bottom to the -sides<of the furnace, ' where it remains as a protector of the chills or air plates of the furnace. The Lake Superior ore in the block or quarry form is the most refractory ore that I have ever seen. It cannot be melted in our boiling furnace. How- ever, when it 1s reduced by stamping or otherwise so that it is susceptible of being thoroughly penetrated by the atmosphere, it melts at a very low temperature, and when it becomes solid again it is as refractory as ever. One fixing thus put in will last as long as three fixings of Lake Champlain ore. I have also take: it in its rough form and piled it in and around the furnace as compact as possible ard melted a small quantity of Lake Superior ore and daubed up the crevices. A fixing of this kind has lasted three or four days, whereas with the Lake Cham- plain ore the operation has to be re- newed every twenty-four hours. I make these remarks, thinking it prob- able that they may be of some use to you. P, S.--Have just seen a boiler from Sharon who say; that it is the best fixing that he has ever seen and when properly put up will last a week." On Oct. 22, 1855, he gave his second order to the Cleveland Iron Mining Co., as follows: "T shall need fiom 409 to 500 tons. of Lake Superior ore this fall. You 4 *