Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1861-02-07
CFor the Herald.
Shall the State Dig Holei-
Deer, Mining.


Mr.. EDToR:-I have always admired
your zeal in defending truth, justice and
progress. | have also admired the frank
ness and firmness with which you have ex-
posed and opposed error and corruption, in
whatever form or place it presented itself
But while | have admired your paper in
these respects and have endorsed your
opinion and views Oh most points, | must
beg to differ from you in your views on the
State Hole in the Herald Of the | 7lh inst,
and inasmuch as this is question that in
wolves the interest Of the miners and the
State, you are willing, no doubt, to have
the subject carefully examined. But be-
fore l give my views on the subject, permit
me to say / have no interest in the appro-
priation nor promise of reward, am not in-
fluenced by friends. knew nothing of
the project until | saw it about two weeks
ago, in the Mineral Point Tribune.
/ very well remember your protest
against similar project some years ago.
And perhaps you will remember, also, my
protest at the same time, against the same
project. / protested against it then, not
because / had no confidence in the lower
magnetism lime rock. but because we We're
not then in possession of the facts necessary
to decide on the best place to sink such a
shaft 1t was my opinion then, a.,d it is
nay opinion now, that it is ot'only waste
Of money but the hight Of folly to sink a
shaft to see the lower magnetism lime rock
without prope. respect to the place oryeln
on which to sink. / cannot agree with
YOU that the proper place to prove the
lower formation is on the Wisconsin and
Mississippi bluffs,where this rock crops out
1t will not do for us to take our agricultural
views along with us when we enter the
mineral region, and suppose because we
find the same soil producing the same class
Of vegetation everywhere, that mineral
bearing rock must produce mineral every
where. The laws that preside over the
vegetable and mineral kingdoms are not
the same. | wish here to state one TACT
that ought to be impressed upon every one
interested in this question, that Is, It IS not
so much the chemical constitution OF the
rock that renders it a notwithstanding rock
as IL is the physical forces and chemical ac-
ton to which it has been exposed, or its
relative position to other rocks. Hence
the question to be decided is not, is the
lower megnesian lime rock chemically a
m,neral-bearng rock, but has it been acted
uron BY the same forces and exposed to
same agencies that made and filled the
veins in the u per form2tion! Or another
question: Have the upper formations been
acted upon by agencies from above p be-
low? THAI the lower magnetism limerick
is chemically a mineral-bearing rock IS adj
mitted BY all scientific men, and 1t + foliy
to attempt farther to proveit. But whether
It has been exposed to and acted upon BY
the same agencies, remains to be proved
and to prove this IS the object, | suppose,
of the application to the Legislature tol
| this appropriation. And where, | would
ask any thinking man, can we lind q bet
I ter place to prove this than Immediately
below where these physical forces have eti-
dered the upper magnetism lime rock 50
productive? Ard who has a greater in
| terest in this experiment than the State
And who is better able to sustain the loss,
if a loss has to be sustained-than, the
State2 And | think the time has come
when. with a proper arrangement OF the
facts in the possession Of the mining region,
the place may be fixed on and the expert
ment made. This question, at all events,
OUGHT to be discussed and the facts on both
sides collected and brought out, SO that our
mineral region may stand before the world
in lis proper lights And for the purpose
Of bringing this subject before the State
and the world, in its proper light, | chal-
lenre any man in the State, or out, pfac-
teal or scientific, to bring forth any good
reason why the lower magnetism lime rock
Is mol a good mineral bearing rock; or that
he mineral veins Of the lead region will
not extend to and become productive in it.
And if the facts, when presented, show
stronger evidences against than for deep
mining, let the Legislature act accordingly.
Mazo Mamie, Jan. 20. 1861. J. NJ.
Y 49, IL ,saxse