Tale of the "wall of silver mine"up in the Keweenaw.....

A couple years ago,I read a book called the "Wall Of Silver Mine"written by a last name of Kellogg.This describes a silver mine up in the Keweenaw Peninsula between Calumet and Copper Harbor,Mi.It was supposedly shown to the author by another man,which he claimed in the book also held a stash of $10 gold coins.Last year Labor Day week;I was up in that area;and decided to nose around and ask some questions on the validity of this story.There is a road up near Copper Harbor that is called Brockway Mountain Drive-A winding,up/down paved road with some great views of Lake Superior and the surrounding forests.Theres a gift shop on a turnoff on that road,and I asked he guy running the place if he'd heard of it,he said "OH YEAH"...Then he said "up near MUD LAKE"....now,there is a Mud Lake on the map up there-AND its right in the middle of country that would have scared Lewis and Clarke if they'ed been there-ridges straight up and down;HUNDREDS of feet,one after the other-The whole area is a natural lightning rod,thanks to the metal in the ground-if that mine was at the bottom of a ridge,ya got in there;a storm came and a flash flood- ???Wild animals,(Bears,wolves)-To top it all off;author says the land its sits on belongs to some paper Co,and ARMED security patrols it regularly... After seeing where its supposedly at;my guess its gonna stay there -IF its there at all.......

Nightwind,
The author of the book I met this year.  He is getting pretty old, but still pretty sharp.

I had read the book, and then got a call that the author lives about 15 minutes away, and was coming over to sell and sign books.

Got a chance to sit and talk to him for about half an hour of so.  He says the mine is off Cliff Drive South of the Phoenix Mine.

I had a good map with me, and he showed me about where he claimed the mine was.  I get to the UP often during the summers, but haven't made a trip that far over since I met him. 

He lives in Bellaire, MI.  He loves to talk about it. 

Still not sure if it's all true, and accurate, but it sure is interesting, isn't it?

Good Luck,
Mark

Interesting story, my only question would be, why would a paper company have armed security gaurds out? I know of alot of paper company land, and I've never seen any armed gaurds out anywhere!

That is the first I've heard of the armed guards.
Mr. Kellog didn't say anything about that.

thanks,
Mark

i will have to read the book, haven't heard about armed guards up that way though, didn't know of any actual silver mines there, thought they were all copper, even though alot of the copper has silver and gold, the white pine mine had enough gold with the copper to pay for the mine operations. though there was some to the south west past Ontonogan[silver city], where i had a ghost experience, i have a buddy out that way and I worked at Baraga for 5 years, planning to do some detecting around Mass and silver city this summer

I would say this is a must read book for anyone interested in treasure hunting. You can't prove that this story is real unless you find the treasure, but it's hard not to think it is because of the historical reference. If it is there is a couple of things worth more than the gold. I won't give anything away for the people that want to read it. I would really like to meet this guy some day.

Wolverine.

Wolverine,
I think it could certainly be arranged to meet him.  I wouldn't wait too long, he's pretty feeble looking now.  Must be late 80s or so.
If you let me know I can get ahold of him.  He still does book signings and so forth, but I think if we called him he would love to sit down and talk about it.  I took an immediate liking to him, very nice guy.

Thompy,
The mine was supposedly worked by some very early miners that lived a winter or two with one of the tribes.  The entrance of the mine caved in, and they had to dig an escape tunnel. They didn't survive the next winter......  There is certainly a lot of historical research in the book.  It is a very enjoyable read.  If you can't find one up there let me know, it is in every book store in this area. (Petoskey to Traverse City)


Good Luck and stay warm!
Mark

the book he is talking about has stuff in there about the mineing.. there is a lost gold cavern up there.. i read sailors who seen indians with so much gold on they didnt understand where they got it from, so it is possible for silver mines as well. my old lady girlfriends husband works with the paper mill he does some work up there and travels so i can ask him about any information and about the guards. if he knows

mpostma that make sense, the Indians would bring out silver nuggets around silver city, and not willing to share the location. some were found to the east in the Hurion Mt's by an early logger, supposedly silver nuggets are allot rarer than gold ones.

speaking of silver mines, there is one up the road from my folks, it never amounted to much, even though they did plent of digging, i have some of the quartz from the tailings piles, with fine hair line traces of silver running through, this was from the 1860's the gold mines that did somwhat better in the area date around the 1890's

WOW!!!I passed right by Cliff Drive,when I was up there last Labor Day week on my motorcycle!!As for the armed guards,some woman a while ago told me that,not the author-She said she used to work up there,told me about the armed security-STILL,If anybody finds that;they are guilty of trespass-And guess who takes posession of it  when ya get arrested?The owners of the land its on...

never ran into any armed guards up there, just teenagers smoking dope,  whats fact or fiction?  it is private property

hey guys
well before you set out and waste a lot of time on this story, email me i'll send you file of a piece titled "Dissecting the wall of silver" by rex crouch..... This guy took the authors book and dug and dug to try to prove one piece of it to be true, he went through records trying to find one person named in the book to even exist, he also had a geologist do research based on the descriptions of the mine and a lot fo stuff
you need to read this piece of work as i agree with his claims, also the biggest note to pay attentiontoo
the so called author of the book of silver was flat broke, now if you knew where this was wouldnt ya be sitting pretty instead of writing a book claiming to know where a pile of money is?

dtm

There has to be a fw mines up there with gold or silver just have to think like a prsopector find it without getting into legal trouble

well in the next few years there should be a few new mine going in, the companys are waiting for a final ok for kennycot to start it nickle, copper gold silver mine, they themselves have 6 other sites the want to open, there is a spot north of me that they are getting ready to mine gold, setting up the contracts for properties, they have done the surveys and still some sampling, but according to the drillers, this may be the biggest gold producer in the states in many years

i say let us go find gold and get a claim.. i go out there like the old days with a pick and bucket LOL

i havent found any real gold yet, by buddy took some of the tailing and crushed it and did get a little after panning it out, i havent tryed that with mine. it seams that the gold is pretty much in the rock, or gold dust, i think most of it was pushed south with the glaciers

How true that is thompy--only gold i have ever found was 60 mesh---keep reading posts on the alaska gold forum--- SOMEDAY

I bought & read the book a couple of years ago after seeing it profiled on some Michigan outdoors show. Very interesting read for a Michigan treasure story. If it's true, what a find it would be!!! I've got to find that book & read it again. It's around the house somewhere. If I can locate it, someone close to Roseville could borrow it if they'd like.

I did find a map from 1827. its a miner map of michigan. its hard to make out i dont speak french but it looks pretty interesting on some areas just got to get translated.. when my daughter gets back this week ill ask her to help me she is studying french... ill get back to you all on this

I did find a map from 1827. its a miner map of michigan. its hard to make out i dont speak french but it looks pretty interesting on some areas just got to get translated.. when my daughter gets back this week ill ask her to help me she is studying french... ill get back to you all on this

A map? maybe you could post it on here? 

im pretty leary on posting maps on here, i gave a lot of info and maps to a few people here to go on hunting and i never heard from them again

I am new to the forum but not to the love of finding things not yet found. The wall of silver has peeked my interest again in the U.P.
Ok maybe just a feeling I get every now and then about things but I believe exists. Maybe not to the extent other say it does. Been several years since I’ve been in the U.P. but always had a feeling up around the Cliff mines there was something. Does any one else go on feelings and research? Any information would be helpful.

I'm glad I finally decided to join this forum since this is one topic I actually seem to have significant information about. I read the book and got real excited about it and made an expedition to find the wall of silver at the end of Oct. in '08 since it was relatively close (from SE MI) and I had just read the book a few months before.  I found what I believed to be the location of the/an entrance to the mine described in the book. It is located on a hillside and appears as a section that is kind of "scooped out" of the hillside and appears to be an unnatural feature in the landscape (however, I am not a geologist). It looks like what I would imagine a mine entrance would look like; or possibly someone digging well into the side of a hill.  I didn't take a camera with me otherwise I would have taken pictures of "the scoop". I did mark the spot on my GPS if anyone is interested in checking it out (keeping in mind it is on privately owned land). There was kind of a small hole at the base of the "scoop" where ground cover and dirt and debris that fell from the top didn't quite reach the bottom. But this could also have been an animal den. It would probably take several men a day (or one man several days) to excavate the entire "scoop" using hand tools and see what's under it (again, keeping in mind it is on privately owned land).

However, after returning and reviewing the story I question how true it is. This doesn't mean that anyone interested in it shouldn't check it out. I did find a glass bottle from the Calumet Brewing Company (raised letters in the glass). It turned into a really nice trip especially at that time of year.

The Wall of Silver sure is intriguing!
Would just love to spend more time up around that part of the UP.  Spend quite a bit of time around Blaney Park (US 2 and M 77) South of Seney.

I've met the author of the book a couple of times now.  He is getting right up there in years.  Happens to live not far from here, about 20 miles, and comes to different events to sell and sign books.  I've taken a couple of those opportunities when he didn't have a bunch of people looking at books etc., and talked to him about the mine etc.

He has been a detectorist for much of his life, and loves to talk about it. 

He gave me some landmarks to look for, but remember he only went into the mine once.  He does swear that it really exists, and seems to be a very sincere old guy.

The way they traveled into the mine was an originally an escape tunnel, since the original entrance caved in and was never re-opened.

Great story.  Sure would be fun to go up and look for it!


Good Luck,
Mark

I love that area and will be headed back there this summer for our annual vacation.  Looks like I may have to pick up that book.
Dan

I have the book about the "wall of silver mine" and I grew up just a few miles down the road from the cliff drive described in the book.  Unfortunately, I think the tale is just that, a tall tale.  Every square inch of this area was explored by the mining companies, so I think it is doubtful that they would have missed finding this supposed lost mine.  Some of the geography the author uses doesn't match up with the actual lay of the land and the so called armed security guards in the tale only existed in his imagination.   The Mines abandoned this particular area 80+ years ago and the lumber/paper companies wouldn't have a need for guards here either.  What would they be protecting against? Someone stealing a pine tree?  That's absurd.  My family has lived in this area since the 1920's and no one can recall seeing any armed guards protecting this area and since the mines closed there is nothing valuable on it to protect. 
As a kid, I explored this area, hunted and mountain biked this area.  You can still find small tunnels in the cliff along cliff drive, but most of them are air vents or exploratory shafts for the mines that used to operate here.  Most have been filled in but you can still find ways in.  I don't recommend going into any of them, they have been abandoned for 80+ years and are dangerous.  I explored some of the tunnels and there really isn't much to see.   There are foundations, smoke stacks, and cemeteries that can be explored, but no buildings are left standing.   If you really want to search for the "wall of silver" go for it, but I think you will find that the real treasure here is the rugged Lake Superior shore line, the forests, ghost towns, mountains(OK really big hills, but they are the closet thing you will find to mountains in the American Midwest.) and the colorful people that live here.  You might not want to leave.

   Seven years ago, I was caught hook, line and sinker for this story! I lived across town from him, when he lived here in Traverse City, MI. I first Met him at a Borders book signing, even had him sign my copy.
   So, Two business friends and I spent three years, thousands of our own monies, and many, many hours, (over 300), looking for the "mine". We met with the authors' money man, (a good man also taken), who had a photographer shoot video interviews on the cliff, of us for a documentary. We shot hours of video for ourselves, hundreds of still shots (both digital and film). We met with author, Dick, a dozen times, for hours of questions and answers. Dick even let me take a photo of a picture that he told me was the entrance to the mine and reassured me that, " this isn't B.S....", ( which turned out to be a plagiarized photo from, " Gold mines in Michigan").
   We proved for the most part that it is a fabricated story, which has an author who has an ego to keep it alive, no matter what the cost is for those looking for it. If you've been in the area looking, you know what I mean when I say, "it is Dangerous when wet!"
   On a side note, My friends and I are closer than we ever have been, and the land is owned by Lake Superior land co. and is free to access, as it has a C.F.A. land use status for public tresspass!
   Have fun, look out for poison ivy, and enjoy the sights!
Mustache Man

[not from a fissure deposit]

Anyone seriously interested in "The Wall of Silver" tale should take the time to read the debunking discussion written by a professional geologist from Wisconsin that was sent to the publisher of the book, Avery Color Studios. See: http://www.michrocks.org/other/articles/silver.html

I have watched, with interest, the stories and the posts develop regarding this tale since the book was published . I have generally stayed away from any detailed personal comments regarding the story and the claims since I didn't want to ruin the fun of anyone who took up the search. The quest is the "journey".

The above mentioned dissection of the claims in the book is relatively well done and raises too many questions and identifies too many conflicting claims made by the author, Kellogg. It should not be ignored.

I note that others are starting to address the "problems" associated with the details of the tale.

Additional to the information and assessment presented in the "debunking" letter to the publisher I have personal observations that add to the veracity of the debunking.

Let me first address the background that allows me to add to this discussion with some authority. I am a retired geologist who started my career working in the mines and on exploration projects in the Keweenaw for Calumet and Hecla for a number of years prior to their closure. I also worked for other mining and exploration companies in the Copper Country and western Upper Peninsula. In the latter part of this career I again did consulting work on mining and exploration projects throughout the Copper Country. I have nearly 50 years of experience with Michigan copper and silver deposits.

From a mining standpoint, there are no workings that I have ever seen, underground, that would even tangentially approach some of the descriptions offered in the book. Too many things conflict with reality.

More importantly, as directly relates to the "Wall of Silver" story, I actually saw the silver specimens offered for sale in the Sportsman's Bar. This bar was one of our watering holes after a day in the mines or the field. Kellogg did have silver specimens for sale, along with some rather nice copper-in-calcite crystals. These specimens originally resided in a case on the west wall of the bar room, which would have been to the right of anyone entering through the front door. They were not cheap, even at the value of the dollar back then.

I know for a fact that many of the excellent collections of Copper Country mineral specimens were originally assembled when the miners would trade their "lunch-box" specimens for various items from the local business men. One of the better old collections in Calumet was put together by a butcher who traded meat and groceries for specimens.

There are a few people who have been associated with the mineral specimens of the Copper Country for so long that they can recognize the subtle crystal habits and associated accessory minerals of specimens so that they can identify, with a high degree of accuracy, whether specimens were from fissure zones or lodes, and also can be fairly accurate in identifying from which lode the specimens originated.

The silver specimens that Kellogg had for sale in the Sportsman's Bar were very likely from the Kearsarge Lode, not from a fissure deposit. The most likely sources within that lode were from the workings of the Centennial No.2 and the Centennial No. 3 & 4 shafts. Some of the silver specimens had a little matrix on them that contained the epidote and quartz association typical of the Kearsarge Lode. The Sportsman's Bar happened to be rather close to those operations.

My belief is that Kellogg was accepting silver specimens in payment of bar tabs. A secret source up along the cliffs to the northeast, delivered by an elusive person, was a good cover story for both himself and the miners.

I bought the book off of Amazon and loved it.  It is a good read.  My 65 year old dad, who does not read books at all, read it in one sitting.
Dan