BLUESTONE CLAY
DISCOVERY
Where It All Began
When I was a kid, I heard some local stories about some lost mines.
One of them was found by an old-timer in the 1920's and, just before the war, a slide came down and buried it. It could have been on purpose to hide it during the war, but I don’t think it was on purpose. Then, in the '60s, it was found again and the people who found it panned for some gold from the blue ground, but eventually gave up on it after finding no gold.
Finally, in 1985, I passed a creek while going logging, armed with a poke full of stories and a gold pan and I realized I had stumbled upon the old prospectors mine. After a month of prospecting, I came upon a hole of blue ground on the side of a mountain with a vein of blue clay sandwiched in it.
I was amazed by the colour of the walls: blue as blue can be.
I knew I was on to something but before I knew it, I was followed, and the mine was found and buried by loggers. The hole of blue ground was gone. But, I always kept title to the mining rights on the mountain, despite the ongoing pressure from the loggers who held title to the forests on the mountain. I dreamed and felt deep down that I could make a living off mining one day. So, I kept the location and colour of the blue walls in my mind.
In the summer of '08, I took a very lovely woman up to get quartz crystals and geodes from where the volcanic shear that creates the clay crosses the road at the top of the mountain. I asked her if she wanted to see the old mine. “Heck ya” she said, so off we went. When we got there, you could see the debris the loggers tore up and tossed on the blue ground. You could see it had sloughed off and exposed the blue ground that I had always kept in my mind. I chipped off a blue chunk, took it home and did some research on blue clay.
I read that it can often hold silver. With this news, we got a pick and a shovel, and we began to expose the blue ground hole again. We used a puddle box to crush up the clay and we noticed how the clay that settled was an amazing blue-green colour. We also noticed how smooth the clay was and this got me thinking: blue clay.
I googled it and found "the blue clay of the dead sea". What do you know, blue cosmetic clay. Could it be used as a safe cosmetic clay? From here it was research, testing and a little bit of digging through history.
Turns out, in the deposits of blue ground, I found my blue colours.
HISTORY
The Verbal Archives
An important part of this cosmetic clay is its history. Unfortunately, Bluestone Clay has no recorded history, but that's not to say there is none. The reality: this clay has a very impressive unwritten history that goes far back in time and defies all known written history.
Sadly, the important native history that did not fit the known written history was forbidden, ignored, and eventually forgotten. I, however, was very fortunate to spend time with an old Indigenous shaman, named Willie, from the local tribe. He told me the stories that were handed down to him which he could not tell others because he was laughed at and not taken seriously by historians or the younger generations. The history behind the mountain and its clay starts from the time of the people from the beginning of time, and extends to a time just after colonization.
When I was very young, about eight years old, I was told a local story about a ceremony on top of a volcano, practiced by the Native tribe who resided at Sarita. The story goes: They would paint themselves in gold and dance around the crater of a volcano behind Sarita lake.
After I found the old mine in 1985, as mentioned previously, I realized I was onto something and read a legend called The Cave Called Koa-swilth which was written in a book by Bruce Scott, titled Barkley Sound: A History of the Pacific Rim National Park Area.
The legends goes:
Koa-swilth can be approached by paddling through the kelp beds which lie off shore to a tiny little harbor in which a landing can be made on a shelf of rock about one hundred yards from the mouth of the cave. Entering by an arched portal into the gloom of the cave, there is a round pool of water some twelve feet from side to side. A mosaic of multicolored sea growths in shades of orange, yellow, cerise, red, crimson lake and purple hues lines the sides below and above the level of the water, in the placid surface of which the colors are mirrored blending with the reflection of the olive greens ochres of the vaulted roof. Hollowed out of the side wall is a grotto, the floor of which lies about a foot above that of the cave, the walls and ceilings are encrusted with a cream colored deposit of carbonate of lime and little stalactites hang from the roof.
What appears to be a miniature mountain range colored rose red is set in a dark heart shaped frame of rock. It is placed on the wall at the end of the cave. Climb around the slippery sides of the pool and there is a cavity in the wall about five feet high. Look through the cavity and there is a second cave, longer and deeper than the first one. This cavern has an entrance on the exposed side of the point on which the caves are situated.
A miniature mountain range rises from the floor, perfect in every detail, serrated peaks, precipitous gorges and bold bluffs. Along the foot of the range lies a miniature lake, long and narrow, for the floor of this cave lies below the tide mark. Through the entrance to the second cave the sunlight enters in such a manner as to light the upper slopes and peaks of the diminutive mountain range, revealing rich tints as of cinnabar and giving the effect of a sunset scene.
This description of Koa-swilth caves was written by Alfred Carmichael, but the whereabouts of the cave is unknown.
Is it Bluestone Cave near First Beach?
After reading this legend, I went to look for the miniature mountain in the cave and to my surprise there it was, situated behind a pool of water. Perfect in every detail. I waited for the setting sun, but nothing happened. Months later I spoke to a university professor and he told me to go back during the summer solstice. On June 22nd, I went back with my friends Doug and Warren and to our surprise, once the sun set, the miniature mountain was gold in colour.
This was amazing in the fact not only did we find that old mine, but we also found this cave and evidence of celestial rock work: a miniature mountain carved in the back of a cave that turns to gold. Is it an ancient map to the riches on the mountain? The same mountain of the lost mines? The big question was, who did it? This I was to learn many years later after spending time with the old shaman, Willie.
He told me, "This cave has a very important story to tell. You are not to tell anyone about this place, unless they are willing to learn more and to discover what it is all about. Only then can you take them here and they can pray and uncover its history."
The mountain and valley are unique in the world because they are protected by the caves and human stone statues that stand as monuments to this amazing place. I could go on and on talking about the history of this mountain and area and how it makes this clay so special to me and how it should be special to you, but I’m trying to keep it relatively brief here. If you want to learn more and dive deeper into this history or if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to reach out to bluestoneclay.co@gmail.com.
PRODUCTION
A Clay In The Life
Gemstone Clay mining: When first mined, from a beautiful clay wall on the mountain, with seams of blue, it has a darker blue colour. The clay is mined at a height 1000 feet above sea level and is not classed as a marine clay.
Solstice Clay mining: Both the yellow and blue solstice clay are mined out of the ground by hand. We hike deep into the jungle forest to mine the clay. These two clays only differ in colour, and form in layers in the ground along which the river flows.
After we mine the clay, it is taken to the processing facility, where it is processed in a natural way.
The clay is mixed with water and it is tumbled and separated. This is similar to how a stream processes its own material to get a natural clay. The grit is settled out and the clay slurry is poured off through a fine mesh screen. This is to end up with a super fine blue-green or golden yellow coloured clay. The clay is then left to settle for several days. Once settled and the excess water is poured off, it is dried and crushed.
For the raw clay, after we mine it, it is taken to the processing facility. It is not altered in any way, simply dried and crushed into the fine powder.