The Somerset herald and farmers' and mechanics' register. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 183?-1852, 1847-03-09
From the South Bend (Ind.) Register.
MINING IN WISCONSIN.

tails of mining in sthe Lead Diggings" Of
| the Mississippi, written by MIR. Samuel
F. Cleveland, once a resident of this VII
lage, was addressed some time since to
| Mr.. LINDSEY, the Clerk of the Circuit
! Court, and by him kindly profered to us
for publication.
PLATTEvILLE, Wisconsin, Nov. %, 1916.
My DEAR LINDSEY,
You know | promised you in my
last, TO give a description of operative
mining as it is carried on in this country
in my next letter, accordingly you shall
have it.
The only mineral worth mining for in
this country is Lead ore, or mineral
There are annually raised and smelted
something near a hundred thousand OF
copper ore. The writer does not state
whether pounds or tons are here intended
Ed. Register. Near Mineral Point
there is also found copper ore, and north
of this near the Barraboo and klckapoo
Rivers. Lead ore is found usually in the
earth at different depths, sometimes it is
found upon the surface on stony or rocky
Of river or creek bluffs; sometimes the
float found as above described is traced to
veins of Mineral where it forms in the
body Of the ridge. The heaviest veins
Of mineral are generally found in caves,
they are discovered in the ravlnes and uni
versally capped over with solid rock, es-
pecially when the ground rises from the
r~ayines. The caves vary in length depth
and width. Some at Dubuque are over
half a mile in length, from 5 to 80 feet
wide, and from 2 to 30 feet high ence,
the walls or sides of the cave must be
quite irregular. Large masses Of ore are
often found sticking to the cap or roof
rock, also TO the sides, but the chief lies
in the bottom amongst sand ochre and
tumbling or loose rock. The mineral
sometimes runs down for over 20 feet and
some of these Leads or veins have VEL
ded over ten millions of ore.
The most noted caves for extent and
value have been found at Dubuque and
Galena. Potosi and Mineral Point have
had caves of less extent, and few of still
less note have been found at other rocky
or broken digging. The course Of the
caves that contain the best veins is east
and west-in fact | don't know of any
lead of note having been found in a north
and south cave.
Veins of ore in the clay are called clay
diggings, and when they are capped over
with rock, rock diggings. Clay leads are
generally found within from 10 10 40 feet
from the surface, and there is usually sew
eral feet of rich clay lying next above the
mineral, especially if there is a large body
Of clay over it. There is frequently
round or tumbling rock over the mineral
in clay diggings and the clay has its
names as it varies in kind or quality.
The first clay is called top clay, at the
bottom of which Is found blue and choco-
late clay in common. Below this we
find generally a coarse Jointly clay that is
called the change, under this, and some
times amongst it, is often found soap clay
which is a fine greasy earth Of a blueish
color; and sometimes clay Of the same
quality has MANY colors.
Black ochre is a fine black CLAW, in APP
resembling lamp black. Tai
low clay or rotten flint some miners think
to be the same kind or sort of clay but in
different states. This clay is generally
in a layer or strata, under the top
clay; 1t has various colors, white, yellow,
red, and often of mixed %colors; it is gene
rally soapy or greasy, and of fine or soft
sometimes it laws over and some
times under the mineral; and in clay dig
yings there being rock on the sides of the
cad or vein higher than the mineral, this s
clay seems TO lay upon the wall ,
Hence it must pitch towards the
centre of the creyice In order to drop
near the mineral, and many veins
Of mineral have been discovered by drift :
ing the way this or the other bodies pitch. :
There is generally a kind of stone called :
lint which is mostly of a similar kind
,ut then there are many kinds of it. a
The rock is of two sorts commonly
lime and sand rock-the sand rock
Universally lays above the blue lime rock. '
This latter is mostly found low in the I
or broken parts, but it generally ,
as it rises from these bluffs or
broken lands. The best clay leads run c
and west with a few points variation. !
Although for The most part mineral veins !,
un in one direction. wits now and then |
fork or feeder putting out from the main
'ody, yet patches Of mineral arc often
ound that seem 10 run no particular
curse. These patches sometimes are
loats from large veins Of mineral on low
n ground than the main body, but chiefly :
hey are isolated-yielding from a few t
hundred TO hundreds of thousands Of o