Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1859-08-16
For the Mineral Point T. ibune.
Geology and Mining,


will enrich the mind the one to be obtained by
labor and experience, the other by investigation
and research To guide us 10 one, we need the
light of experience; TO guide Us to the other we
need the light of science And it Is not until
we take the light of experience IN one hand and
the light of science in the other, and prove the
various branches of Industry with view Of OBJ
tanning this two-fold reward, that industry viii
beeome-wbat 1t is destined to be--a source OF
happiness well as source Of wealth. The
great mistake Of vast majority of men Is, they
think that industry has other object than to
get hold OF the riches OF nature no other en-
ioyment than what flows from their accumula-
ton !; whereas its noblest object is to get hold
If the secrets of nature and lis purest Joy flows
from their explanation.
Whenever the various branches of industry
pursued in this light. we shall see great
change in the associations of men. There Is
delightful adoption in the scenes of nature to
the wants and wishes of the human mind. " ho
among can look up from the sordid baseness
down 10 which the cares Of life and physical
toll sometimes bind the mind and gaze upon
the unveiled landscape aud enter upon those
meditations to which we are invited by srni
ling universe, without feeling the mind purified
refreshed and elevated. Who among Us can
draw back that sensual atmosphere that two
often envelopes the mind, and wander away
amid the rich developments Of the sublime and
and the beautiful, and expose the mind 10 the
gentle inspirations flowing from the beauty, the
grandeur, aud the harmony that pervades the
vast Greetings of creation, without feeling new
and strange impressions steal upon the soul, as
though some hand divine had swept across the
chords of harmony : or some angelic band from
some celestial hill, poured on the breeze the
sweetest, softest strains of heavens eternal an
them. The mind thus ngaged, is a mental ex-
/ ercise which tends to the refinement and ele-
| walton of every human feeling, and under its
influence will take a lofty flight Of observation
and research amid the wonders of creative skill,
where the elements of human happiness dwell
| enshrined in beauty.
| 1t is true, mining is It branch of industry that
1 leads US into the inorganic world, where the
| great phenomena of life are wanting but it
! leads US into natures great work shop. Here
/ the miner stands, and here he lahors in the
midst of a wonderful world, and infinite variety
of phenomena arising around him in strange
forms. Yet mpressing on his mind, that " be-
meath the beautiful vcrdure of the external world
there exists, like its quickenng soul, a perra-
ding power, assuming the most varied aspects
giving TO the whole lis life and loyeliuess, and
/ linking every portion Of this material mass ii
, common bond. with some great principle be
youd our knowledge" Here the crystal pre-
sents its systematical form, the beautiful VOL
| OF natures Geometry. Here are the metals glow
I ing with color, the gems glIstenins with light
lis here we learn the truths which science tell
Of rock formations and mineral veins lis here
where nature reveals to Us her secrets; =" fo
here she does. (s5y= an Italian philosopher) a,
1t were, betray herself, and laying aside all dis
guse, permits us to behold, not merely the re
ality of her operations, but the very processe
themselves
Mining also brings rs in contact with the nat
ural history of Creation. / mean, Of course, it
ancient history for it must b, acknowledged
by the thoughtful, and he intelligent. that on
earth has had past history the records 0
which were engraven by the Almighty himself
long before man had invented printing or hac
learned TO write on the leaves of the trees o
to engrave on the tablets of rock And the in
telligeut, scientific miner, feels when his hea,
gets below the sod, and he winds his way dowl
into the dark rccesses of the earth, that he i
descending through the vista Of the past, an,
the strata through which he is passing are GOV
cred with the pencilngs of infinite intelligence
designed doubtless to call forth, and calculate,
to develop the noblest powers of the human
mind. And while with the light of science n
: a burning torch IN his hand he pursues his va,
along Lie horizontal. down the vertical cours
: Of the mineral vein in quest of the shining ores
} or Symmetrical crystals; be trcads upon the fos
sill remains. and digs open the supulchre of til,
long, long departed. What food for reflection
! What materials for Imagination cluste- a
round the fact, that many of the shining organ
/, isms, when In the noon-tde Of their existence
were rocked into eternal sleep mid the throb
ings Of primeval eartbC AXE. What age Of tht
world did they live in ? What were the cir
cumstanccs surrounding their death To VIVA
species and generation do they belong ar
questions propounded to the mind, as We un
fold the winding sheet that nature has thrown
around them.
Now if the light of science is necessary T.
collect the stores Of intellectual treasure foun,
in connection with industry, Why not let III
miner take it with him. 1t is mis- AIKEN ide
that science is out of the reach of the laborin.
man. Science it is true--like the mighty ocea1
that girdlcs our earth-has her profound depths
that are unexplored by the most gigantic mind
where the pearls shining with the hues Of heav
en- repose undisturbed. Yet her waves are rip
ping at our feet, and along her shores the school
boy, or the laborer from the common walks o
life may collect her soal inspiring facts. Science
like theology, reveal The footsteps of the eter
nal who comes down to the humblest walks o
life, and returning to the highest of glory, scat
tered eternal truths along the road toinduce hi;
intelligent creatures to follow him.
Il industry has in her Golfers this two-fold