The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Lee EARLY ORE SHIPMENTS. The following reprint from the Cleve- land Leader, of March 2, 1884, now in the possession of Capt. W. C. Richard- son, is quite interesting: At this season of the year when iron ore and coal carrying rates on the lakes are under discussion, it is certainly an appropriate time to review the history of these contracts and engagements for some years past. A gentleman in ma- rine circles, who has been long connect- ed with the traffic and who knows a great deal of the history of the iron ore trade, has gathered the larger part of what appears below on the subject. The information secured from him will be found of interest not only to men in marine circles, but to the shipper and the iron ore and coal trade generally, giving as it does the carrying rates on the products of the mines from 1854. The First Ore Brought to Cleveland was in the year 1852 and was contained in six barrels aggregating probably a couple of tons.* It was shipped by the Marquette Iron Co. on a vessel called the Baltimore and was brought down as an experiment. It proved satisfactory and the first regular cargo for com- mercial purposes was brought down about two years later or in 1854, and consisted of about 1,400 or 1,500 tons. The carrying rate is not known but it - is believed to have been a good round sum. Beginning with this first ship- ment in 1854 the following figures for the next few years will show the rate of increase. In 1856 there was brought down 11,597 tons; in 1857, 26,184 tons; i 1858, 31,035: in 1859, 65,679 tons: in 1860, 116,998 tons; in 1861, 45,430 tons; He i802, 115;72) tons; in. 1863, 185,257 tons; in 1864, 235,123 tons; in. 1865, 195,256 tons; in 1866, 296,872 tons; and in 1867, 469,320 tons. From these fig- ures can be seen the state of increase in shipments each year, but coming on down to the year 1872, after a period of 18 years in which the iron ore busi- ness had slowly grown in volume, until the total number of tons brought down that year was 948,553. The entire prod- uct from 1854 to 1872 was 4,721,354 tons. The Winter Charters of 1872 were at the rate of $2 per ton from Es- canaba to Cleveland, and $2.20 per ton from the same port to Erie. More dif- ference was then made for carrying ore to Erie.than is now' the custom. At the same time the rate on ore from Marquette to Cleveland was $2.80 and $2.85, and to Erie $3.05. The sales held' steady all along the earlier part of the year but by July had so increased *The bill of lading for this shipment, writ- ten by the late Peter White, of Marquette, is now hanging in the office of Oglebay, Norton & Co., of. Cleveland. -per ton from. Marquette. THE Marine REVIEW that $2.50 per ton was the rate from Escanaba to Cleveland, and $3.50 per ton the rate from Marquette. From that month on there was an increase in the rate until the close of the season, in October, when the going rate' was $5.25 from Escanaba to Cleveland, $5.50 to Erie, and $6 to $6.50 from Mar- quette to Cleveland, and $7 to $7.50 to Erie. The winter charters for the follow- ing year, 1873, were made at $2.50 per ton from Escanaba to Cleveland, and $3.50 per ton from Marquette, with about the same difference of 20: t0-25 cents per ton to Erie which had charac- terized the year before. Further state- ment of this difference will be omitted in the remainder of this article, as it gradually faded out, and within the last few years has not always amounted even to 5 cents per ton. The opening rates of 1873 were maintained during that year with some slight fluctuations, and closed the season at\ exactly the opening figures from Escanaba, and with $3.40 as the rate from Marquette. The total number of tons brought down that year was 1,195,234, an increase over the last year of 246,681 tons. The winter charters of the year 1874 were made at nearly the same figures as for the year 1872, or $2 per ton from Escanaba to Cleveland, but at $2.75 in- Stead of $2.69 a6 in that year from Marquette. But.the evidence of a change in the times was soon apparent, for by June of that year freight had declined to $1.40 per ton from Escanaba to Cleve- land, and $2 from Marquette. The closing figures of the year were at the price named from Escanaba, and at a further reduction of 25 cents, or $1.75 There was also a falling off in The Demand for Ore which caused this depression in the carrying price, as but 809,934 tons were brought down that year. The winter charters of the year 1875 were at the closing rates of 1874, or $1.40 from Escanaba and $1.75 from Marquette. But the depressed condition of the trade was still further evident in the carrying rate being reduced during that year, so that it closed at $1.10 from Escanaba and $1.50 per ton from Mar- quette. The number of tons brought down, however, was slightly increased. being 881,166 tons, and 71,232 tons more than in the year before. The winter charters of 1876 were made at $1.20 per ton from Escanaba and $1.50 from Marquette, but the finan- cial depression was still more apparent and prices went lower, but rallied, espe- cially in the last half of the month of October, and closed at $1.50 from Es- canaba, and $2.25 per ton from Mar- quette. There was also a stil] further improvement in the number of tons shipped, being 993,311, against 881.116 reported the year before. SS The history of the years 1877, 1878 and 1879 are very much alike, freights opening at about $1 each year from Es- canaba and $1.30 and $1.40 from Mar. quette. . Rates fluctuated some during each year, but always closed higher than at the opening. The advance made at the close of 1879 was rather remarkable, ranging from $2.10 to $2.90 from Rs. canaba, and from $3 to $4.25 per ton from Marquette. The number of tons brought down in those years was also remarkable for the Increase Over Previous Years being for 1877, 1,025,129 tons; for the next year, 1,127,583 tons, and for the year 1879, 1,420,745 tons. The winter charters of 1880, while not as high as the closing rates of the year before, were higher than in any year since 1874, being $1.85 per ton from Escanaba and $2.75 from Marquette. They ruled strong all through that year, and closed at $2 from Escanaba and $2.75 to $3 from Marquette. There was a still further boom in the shipments brought down, there being 1,975,602 tons. Season rates opened at better figures in the year 1881, $1.75 per ton being the starting off point from Es- canaba and $2.45 from Marquette. The opening rate was not, however, fully maintained during the year and prices closed lower than at the opening, $1.10 to $1.30 being the figures from Escana- ba and $2 to $2.25 from Marquette. But the shipments were still further in- creased until 2,305,133 tons was the amount landed at these ports. . The contracts made in the winter of 1882 were at the rate of $140 per ton from Escanaba to Cleveland and $1.75 to $2 from Marquette, and the engage: ments at the close of that year were al- most precisely at the same figure ex- cept that a few charters were made from Escanaba to this port at $1.50. The to- tal amount landed here that year was 2,900,431 tons. In the winter of 1883 contracts were made for bringing ore from Escanaba to Cleveland at $1 to $1.10 per ton, and from Marquette at $1.15 to $1.25. pet but by the middle of the season better figures were obtained, and the closing prices were at $1.40 to $1.50 per ton from Escanaba and $1.75 to $2 Marquette. The total down last year was ton, ton' "from amount brought 2,900;351 tons: In this connection it may be stated that the amount of ore brought to this port from 1854 to the present time 1S 22,589,626 tons. per