This leads us to a very interesting subject. In 1848 Mr. S. O. Knapp, agent of the Minnesota Mining Company on the northern peninsula of Michigan, discovered that the modern miners were but following in the footsteps of some ancient people who had mined for copper there some time now far past. The general conclusion is that these old miners were Mound Builders, but here the evidence of their presence is not found in the existence of mounds and earthworks, but of pits and excavations, which, by the slow accumulation of years, had become filled to near the surface with _débris_ of various kinds. Many had noticed these little pits and depressions without suspecting they had aught to do with the presence of man. The hollows made by large trees, overturned by the wind, frequently left as well marked depressions as these excavations. We have abundant proof that these old miners were practical workmen. They evidently did not neglect the most trifling indication of metals. They made thorough research and discovered the principal lodes. Our present day miners have long since learned to regard the presence of these ancient pits as excellent guides in this matter. With modern appliances they penetrate far beyond the power of the old workmen. At the Waterbury mine there is in the face of the vertical bluff an artificial opening, which is twenty-five feet wide, fifteen feet high, and twelve feet deep. The materials thrown out in digging had accumulated in front, and on this forest trees common to that region were growing of full size. Some of the blocks of stone which were removed from this recess would probably weigh two or three tons, and must have required the use of levers to move them. Beneath the surface rubbish was discovered the remains of a cedar trough, by which the water from the mines was conducted away. Wooden bowls were found, which were probably used to dip the water from the mine into this trough. Near the bottom of the pit, shovels, made of cedar, were found, shaped much like a canoe paddle, but showing by their wear that they were used as shovels. Although they appeared solid while in water, yet, on drying, they shrunk up, and were with difficulty preserved. A birch tree, two feet in diameter, was observed growing directly over one of these shovels. No marks of metallic tools were observed anywhere about this large pit. Ancient Mine, Michigan.