New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1845-11-29
Lead Mines in southern Illinois.

To the Editor Of The Tribune
There have been published in the New York pa
pcrs some imperfect accounts of the extraordinary
Lead Mines discovered the past season in South
ern Illinois. These accounts have been but very
imperfect and as there is much interest at the pre-
sent time in miners and mining and being thorough
~ acquainted with those Mines from personal ex-
animation of them all take the liberty of handing
you account OF them which Is al your service
for publication il you wish
II is generally supposed that the discovery OF
Mines in Southern Illinois is entirely new. whereas
il really known as early as SO. Thirty years
ago that mineral existed in that region and the Gov
eminent, that time, made reservation OF mineral
lands in what is denomnated the Shawneetown
Land District and ever since that, various mining
operations of limited character have been carried
on by individuals and companies, from time 10 time.
Such persons and companies however possessed
very limited means. and still more limited expo
rience or skill in mining or smelling. and were gen.
orally in pursuit of Siiver. regarding Lead as
scarcely worthy of their attention. Such operations,
or experiments, have Of course invariably failed {;
and not until the past season have there been any
operations by men OF means and skill, and eXpe
rience in mining. The consequence OF this has been
the discovery and opening OF extensive and very
rich veins of valuable Lead Ore and the successful
establishment OF Furnaces Tor smelling the ore
These discoveries are not what usually termed
Leads in the Galena and Missouri Mining Districts,
but are veins, and what usually denomnated
by minersIRake Vein. Leads are usually found either
in clay in cavernous openlngsln the rock and are
of uncertain extent and depth. bake veins exist
in the lime rock sometimes forcing themselves up
through the OVERLAPPING sandrock and usually lay in
compact bodies between the wall rock, composedot
regularly stratified me-roc and commonly over
laid on the top of the vein filled with heavy bodies
OF cdicdre0us or fuor spar, or barytes. When the
t1..
is usually in,erminged with these accompanying
substances. They are, however, generally mex
haustible in depth.
Now. in regard to the mines in Southern Illinois,
they are confined to a limited district. which Is OF
billy character. The reiHS Of mineral are oil most
distinct and marked character. They are generally
indicated BY those heavy veins OF calcareous and
iuor spar living between the stratfed wallrock,
and running in u straight near y straight line.
They are from six inches to twenty feet in width.
and run North about thirty degrees East, and in
some instances the mineral Id In sight where the
veins cross the creeks.
These rich veins, as above stated, are of limited
number md likewise limited in extent altho there
is one which has been traced more than three miles
and they are all probably ineXhaustible in depth;
Ut least 90 far they have been wrought they have
proved better the farther they have been penetrated
and the history Of all similar veins III England and
in Europe fully corroborates this opinion. Some OF
them having been wrought TO the depth OF 1900 feet
without any appearance of being exhausted. These
are the only veins of this character yet dlscov
cred in this country. While the Leaf in Missouri
and the mining region of Galena exist in clay crew
ices or cavernous openings in the rocks, filled with
decomposcd lime rock or clay, mixed with masses
Of mineral-in the rake veins, the mineral lies IN
compact bodies interminglcd when the mineral iirs;
makes it's appearance in the vein with the Spar and
Bary,cs which till the veins above. The mineral
first makes its appearance Of different depths from
the surface. according to the quantity of superincum-
bent earth and rock.
There are three or four veins now working sue
cesstully, with much better prospects than any In
the United States probably better than any OF the
celebrated Lake Superior mines. They are, two OF
Them not far from twenty feet in width, aud although
not vet worked more than forty fifty feet in depth
They are raising from single shafts. without having
opened galleries prepared for drifting, ten thou
sand pounds OF good mineral per day-as high as
five thousand have been raised at single blast IN
one shaft. These veins will undoubtedly be worked
for generations yet to come, as those OF similar
character have been in Europe.
Those results and such veins were probably never
known in the world; even the celebrated Hudgh-
lean vein in the North OF England, in which have
been made annual dividends of more than one hun
bred thousand pounds sterling, is only seventeen
feet wide but has been worked and is worked 1900
feet in depth
Knowing your limits require it, have condensed
as much as possible but believe it is correct.
Respectfully. ILLINOIS.