Wisconsin tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1847-1854, 1852-07-01
Milwaukee Mississippi Rail Real -Nr.
BFOlIhead, &c. &c

Wisconsin has two great producing in
/ agricultural and Mineral. The
Directors of the Milwaukee ard Missis
sippi Rail Road have taken great pains to
avail themselves Of all income which the
formercan in the eastern part Of the State
contribute to their Road, and they appear
with about as much solicitude to be seek
/ ing 70 avoid the business Of the Lead
/ Mines. The Directors of that road have
! devolyed on them the Office, and the
high responsibility of locating the great
thoroughfare through our State from the
Lake to the Mississippi and yet who and
what are they, and what are their means
of information as to the business of the
Western part of the state, and its means
of contributing to the income of that roadl
we answer, that they are men whose as
sociations are entirely with the Eastern
part Of the state; and who as general
remark, know nothing Of the business of
the Lead Mines It is true, that Mr.. Cat
lin, the President, some thirteen or four
teen years ago, lived here for short time,
but ever since has resided at Madison and
all his business relations have been with
the Eastern part Of the state Some 9th
ers of the directors may have paid this
section of the state flying visit, but it is
ridiculous that any set Of men upon so
slight information, should undertake to
determine the route for the western half
of so great an enterprise, with no greater
information than that Board possesses -
Nor is the exploration of their accomplish
ed engineer calculated greatly to increase
their information. He passed down the
Wisconsin River in 4 skiff, and come to
the sage conclusion that the bluff" could
be $50 easily puzycrieea, that an ercara-
tio31 can be made through them lcitboaH
blasting" when every Miner knows that
the "friable sand stone" of which they are
composed, Is the most difficult rock to re,
move that he encounters, and that there
is nothing that wears out his tools so fast
as that
From Prairie du ELien Mr., BIoIhoad
went by stage to Galena, and thence to
Chicago; and his object was to enable
himself to speak Of the probable amount
of business which would come upon the
road. How well he accomplished that CD,
ject, can be seen in some measure from
his remark that, ''thc route which [ have
described down the Wisconsin Valley
passes through extensive beds Of Lead
Ore. from which large quantities Of Lead
are annually transported by teams -
Independent Of the geological a5surdity
of finding Lead Ore in connection with
friable sand stone, or where s'the soil is a
coarse sand, 50 it is notorious that there Is
not, aud never has boou an extensive bed
of Lead Ore" discovered Within II or 10
miles of the Wisconsin River, and that
nineteen twentieths of all the Lead smelt-
ed in the mines is smelted nearer to the
/ Chicago and Galena r R than to the
/ Wisconsin River so that Mr. Brodhead
is mistaken in supposing that by the route
which he has described, Lead must fur
nish an article Of considerable freight up
on the Rail Road" The mineral products
of the Lead mines will furnish a vast
amount Of freight for some Rail Road not
less than thirty or forty thousand tons
annually, but it will be 10 a road running
through them. Our citizens have always
looked very favorably to the Mil & Miss
r. R, and have ever stood ready to lend
it helping hand whenever it should give
them any assure nee that it would be ex-
tended to their vicinity. But the leading
Directors Of that Road do not disguise now
that their pre- possessions are all in favor
of the Wisconsin Valley,-pre- possessions
formed too, in almost entire ignorance Of
the advantages of any other route This
route is too far north to do the business
of the Lead mines. and too far south to
do the business of the Upper Mississippi
In view of these things, our citizens are
determined to wait no longer-Rail Road
facilities they must have, and viii have
and if they cannot get them with Milwau
kee, where they would have preferred
them, they viii build short Rail Road
to place them in connection with the great
Rail Road routes of Illinois. They are
in earnest in the matter too. The men
who have embarked in the enterprise OF
building the Mineral Point Rail Road are
so well known and distinguished for their
ability, energy, perseverance and deter
mination, as to furnish a sure guaranty
Of their success.
IL The letter from our New York CORES
Poudent,' published in the Tribune last week, con
tanned some uucalled for remarks in relation TO