St. Charles City Republican intelligencer. [volume] (St. Charles City [Charles City], Iowa) 1857-1861, 1858-10-21
A Big Pile Of Iron.

A correspondent Of the Wabash
Express, writing from the mineral re-
gions Of Lake Superior, thus describes
his visit to a mountain Of iron
This morning early, we reached
Marquette. At 7:l5 we started to
the iron mountain, two large locomo-
tives, forty iron ears and one passen-
ger car. temporary seats being provi-
ded in the freight ears for some of the
passengers. We went directly to the
Lake Superior mine, at an elevation
Of $50 feet, the grade being at a few
points, for short distances, at the rate
of l60 feet a mile, Here we found
the laborers at work drilling and blast
ing the solid iron, and loading it in
the cars, for transfer to the lake,
where it is shipped to Cleveland and
Erie to meet the coal. This road was
built expressly to reach the iron noun
tain at a cost of $3.50, 000-thc COM
pany's dock, at the lake, having cost
$50 900 more. Returning, we stopped
at the jackson mine. These iron
mountains are among the wonders of
the world--I shall not attempt to
describe them. Imagine yourself on
the summit of a mountain range,
when suddenly there appears before
you apparently a ledge of rocks, ris.
ing a hundred feet above the surface,
bold, abrupt, and in somcplaces rising
almost perpendicularly. What seemed
to be a ledge of rock, is solid iron.
This is the marvel. How came it so i!
What force produced thit :? and when?
1t has been forced through the roof
rock, and through the granite floor,
and appears upon the very summit OF
the m~ountain--a mountain range run.
ming a hundred and fifty miles parallel
with the lake, and underlaid with
iron
To import iron from Europe to such
an iron country is like carrying Goals
to New Castle. A condition of eligi
bility for a seat in Congress should be
a visit to the iron regions of Lake
Superior.
We cut the above from one Of on,
exchanges, and give it a place in oul
columns, so as to draw the attention
of our citizens to a comparison be
tween the celebrated iron deposits OF
Lake Superior and our own vast de
posts at the Pilot Knob and the Irol
Mountain. In this State we have orr
enough in sight, of a superior quality
to supply the world for ages, and s.
accessible that it can be quarried AM
delivered at the furnace for thirty
seven to forty cents per ton. An,
yet, strange to say, that while tn
iron deposits on Lake Superior hav,
for Il long time attracted the after
: ton of the vigilant capitalists of tn
East, ours have been comparativel..
overlooked. From what we hav,
heard Of the quality and quantity G
the deposits on Lake Superior and il
our own State, no reasonable compari
son can be made, and when to this j
added II more temperate climate AM
the facilities afforded by the Irol
Mountain Railroad, connecting our1
with this fourishing city, the dispari
ty is even greater.-St. Louis RepuI
Ilican.
Get rid of your "niggers," neigh
Dor, and your iron mines will b.
wrought at oncc-otherwise they viii
remain untouched till the crack o
doom. The free white laborers of THU
country do not and will not labor b.,
the side of an African slave. Fo
this reason the Lake Superior iron il
preferred to yours. The whole afTai
is optional will, you /; only rememhe
that, if you hug your niggcrs yo'
must keep your iron.