The Second Level
Stamps were large, heavy, and cumbersome pieces of equipment. Most mills only had a few, and only the real profitable mines (such as C&H) could install more. The Mohawk Mill had 4 stamps. Only question was: where were they? Not that we expected to find them (most stamps were removed for scrap) but we at least expected to find a pedestal on which they once sat. These were large pieces of equipment that required a good amount of structure to support it. The only stamp still in existence in the copper country is evidence of this, since it sits atop a twenty-foot concrete base in Tamarack City. No such obvious structures were here at this upper level. In fact, there was nothing at all here to suggest any equipment ever existed.
We dropped down the 8 feet or so to the next level. Here again we stood upon a large concrete floor, but this time we found it covered in concrete pedestals. There were definitely machines here, arranged in four groups of three. Each group consisted of a short table like concrete base, two short concrete posts, a set of taller and longer supports, and finally a pair of even wider and taller supports set at a right angle to the others. Either these supported four separate machines or one large one - we weren’t sure. What we did know that these were too small and week to be supports for the massive stamps. These must be supports for a series of Jigs - four sets for four stamps.
Exploring the inside wall of this level, we found a few openings that looked like they could have been doorways at some point. One led to a narrow hallway that had partially collapsed making egress impossible. A second doorway further down was not in such bad shape, and I entered. I found myself in a long and narrow room, about twenty feet in length. There looked like what use to be a window on the one wall, and a few other openings that were not. Looking up, I found out where those small holes in the upper level led. I was peering up at the sky through one of them above my head. The rest of the room was empty, so I exited and we made our way towards the next level.