The daily union. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1845-1857, 1845-09-30
COMMUNICATIONS.
THE MINERAL REGION OF THE UPPER
MISSISSIPPI.
GALrEA, (Ill., y September IL, l845.

S,R: have now been il this region Of country
some Ave or six weeks and have, OF course, visited
almost all the large lead-mines within circuit OIL
thirty miles, embracing what is considered the "mn
eraI regionn of Illinois, Iowa. and Wisconsin. Over
this whole section-in Grant and Iowa counties, I'M
Wisconsin; Dubuque and Clayton counties, Iowa;
and Joe Daviess county, lnois--lead has been dis
covered, TO greater or less extent and though inn
mcnse quantities have been rased 1t is fair to pre-
sumo that It's mineral wealth has not yet been one.
lead are celIed) being discovered almost daily;
and il is supposed by experienced miners that with
tho proper means to work the old diggirgs, they
would be found to be almost inex hasisdble.
The face of the country is generally broken, with
short, steep spurs Of hiiis-in Iowa Territory, and
Iowa county, Wisconsin, mostly prairie; but IN Joe
Daviess county, Illinois, and Grant county, Wis
coasin, covered with light growth Of timber, very
similar to the "oak openings" in Michigan. The
streams are all considerably below the general sur
face Of the country; and, consequently, hemmed in
with steep, precpoys benks, In nearly all of which
lead il discovered. In fact on the brow, or in the
side, Of nearly every hill, there shafts
sunk; and, in the majority of cases, with success in
finding mineral The veins Of lead lie east-and-
westwardly, with occasional joys from straight line,
according to the irregularity Of the surface that
when miner strikes lead on the top of ridge he
Is almost always enabled, by sinking shaft in a
direct line west Of the Spot again TO fall upon
the same vein at greater or less depth The min
cral is found at various aepshs---in some instances,
at fifteen twenty Feet but mostly at forty or fifty.
The vein, when struck, is then worked horizontally
Tor drilled, the miners call it,) and two or three
with each other-thus facilitating the raising Of
the mineral, and preventing, by free current,
OF air, the occurrence in the bottom or the
SHAH Of noxious air, or clamps" The mineral
itself is found imbedded in loose, yellowish
limestone, resting upon he blue limestone, which
80. H.
yeowish, eudbcaring rock, in the northern part Of
the mineral district near the Wisconsin river, is not
far from the surface, and casual observer, would
appear nearly horizontal but, by tracing for some
miles, prevailing dip is discovered, as you travel
towards the south. In many cases, therefore, in
is either pumped out by machinery, or carried OF
by digging drain in the side Of The hill, Icalled
running lepei) or, when the vein will no, usti-
fly such an expense, the works are abandoned.
In one place==a government reserve, at Wiota,
near the Pekatonica, in Iowa county, Wisconsin,
Colonel Hamilton Ia son Of the distinguished Cen
eral Alexander Hamilton) has, by means of
pump worked by steam, drained his dggings, and
sunk one shaft to the depth Of one hundred and
twenty-eight feet finding lead even at that distance
from the surface, and the vein increasing To the
thickness of foot il descends into the Water.
Shafts however, of this depth, BY no means COM
mon. The veins or leads yield various amounts
from ten or fifteen thousand to million Of pounds,
and In some instances two or three millions The
diggings at Col. Hamiltons, embtacinE probably
two or three distinct veihs but all within short
distance Of each ohef have yielded already as sta
ted by himself, twenty millions; and IRE now con-
s'dered by him more valuable than ever, with ade-
quate means to work the mines. One vein, belong
ing TO Judge Rountree, at Plattcvillc, Wisconsin,
which has been worked but few months, has pro-
duced upwards Of 100000 pounds and there Is not
yet the slightest symptom of "petering out lin ihs
vernacuar, falling Another sad at Nav biggings,
owned by Champion d Defing, and but recently
discovered, has likewise yielded some ESQ, 900.
pounds, and the vein shows no signs of exhaustion.
Both Of these two are new *diacoveticsh on old
ledds and only 60 to show the ihexhaustble mineral
wealth Of the country. Almost every week or two,
dscovetiet similar 10 these are being made, and, as
necessary consequence, the spirit of adventure
among the Iead-hunters burns more and more bright
W and every hill and ridge throughout the country
is bored and honeycombed In search Of mineral.
By virtue of several acts Of Congress, all Of the
public lands in this region, containing mineral were
reserved from public sale and, by thu system at
present adopted by the government leases are grant
ed 70 miners, giving the privilege Of working these
lands on payment BY them Of AZ pounds Of lead for
every 900 pounds of mineral raised --bctc some-
where near per cent, estinalihg the yield Of pure
lead at 70 Per cent All the lands in Joe Daviess
county are thus reserved in body; and number
of scattered sections in Iowa and Wisconsin, which
gave indications Of containing mineral at the time,
were likewise returned to the land Office, and Or
dered to be reserved. By some MISREPRESENTATION
or neglect or design, III is not my province to de-
eide which on the part Of the district land Office,
number Of these tracts were sold At the FIRST public
land sale in the Mineral Point district, and in some
cases the patents have been issued Valuable dis
coveries are snid to have been made at the time OF
entry, on many OF these tracts, and BONE Edds
equally as valuable, have BEEN struck since The
present holders Of these entered lands, of course,
claim them In fee simple, and refuse to acknowl-
edge the right Of the government to demand rent.
In consequence Of this unequal state Of things,
while those holding mineral lands by patent from
the government, or BY entry not yet perfected by
patent, refuse TO pay rent, many of those who have
made discoveries on the reserved lands refuse also
to take out lease, and contend that if the govern
mcnt is unable to support Its chin In the one case,
il should likewise fail IN the other The right how
ever, Of the government to require such rent, was
uecided at the last January term of the Supreme
Court, in the case Of the United States u.s. H. H.
Gear; and this question may now be considered as
settled
l have understood also, that steps have been, OF
will be, taken to set aside all those entries of re-
served lands especially in cases where II can be
proved that mineral had been discovered pfetious to
the entry, and where, OF cotirse; the entry was
fraudoiently made II This course should be taken
~ the War Department, and sustained, there will
be infinitely less difficulty, and more equality in the
management of this mineral region. As il is, the
position Of the mineral agent here seems far from
being bed Of roses. A large portion, even Of the
reserved lands, are claimed, by sort Of pre-emp-
ton right of first discovery, by individuals who
have raised immense amounts of mineral and new
paid one cent Orient They hold large tracts ofIand
lin some instances, much as half section, or 800
acres, when the law contempates lease of but ten
acres TO any one individually and without lease, or
any semblAnce of legal itlc exact from the miners
who work within the limits Of their pretended claim,
an eighth, seventh, and sometimes as much as a
fourth of all the mineral raised. They pay no rent
themselves and the miners who lease under them
ment, and, Of course, pay nothing. The mineral
agent is required to demand and collect the rents
from these individuals, and where they refuse 10
pay, or make any settlement Of arrearagcs or TO
quidate the accrung rents he is authorized to lease
the land to others who will. In carrying out this
part of his duty he has to contend with great diff
cutes, and incurs much unmerited obloquy from
few interested persons, who, from having so long
enjoyed the profits Of their own wrong, imagine the
government has right TO interfere for its own
H.