The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1861-03-29
Genrral Misfellanv.
Letter from Northern Illinois.

Northwest corner OF the map OF Illinois. and
scattered around it sundry little black dots,
like so many fly specks, which | was taught
represented lead mines. Naturally enough |
associated shot. lead bullets, and guns with
that portion of Illinois, and imagined if ev-
er were there would lay up stock of lead
that would last one while. Well. here am
in Gaena, and instead Of finding lead bull
lets taken out Of the ground, ready made, |
find what miners call mineral" "drybone, .
'black- jack, sui phur," Iron rust" "ashes,
etc, etc, which will sometime try to ex-
plain to Your readers.
Having, during the pas, summer, been for
4 considerable time collecting information
from miners, visiting mines. going down
">hatt>. crawling along drifts" etc, to the
imminent risk of my neck-all for the bene-
hi OF the rea'iess Of a daily paper in this city,
| shall endeayor IN Il series of letters to give
yea Nermonters some idea Of lead and now
they get ii. But first must give some ac-
count Of Galena itself, and this letter you
may consider as only Introductory
Leaving Chicago for Galena,on the Galena
and Chicago Union railroad, you pass over
some cf the most beautiful. farming country
N the West, and instead of finding Yourself
on Wild, unlnhabited praries, You see bcauti-
tul farms, with excellent tarmhouses, YOU
pass through thrifty vllagcs-cities We call
them herc-and Your eye continually teasts
on beauty. At Freeport you come upon the
Illinois Central railroad. Fifty miles further
on you come to rolling prairie, there YOU
get INTO a rough, rocky, almost hideous look
vain!y endcavoring to follow Fever river
Your locomotive - length gives a shr!l yell
and soon stoF>, painting with It's eAegtions, at
Ialtua. lou get out, mutter "lIumph, is
tbs Guena?" begin t. feel homesick, and
steer 70. the DeSota House. What have you
seen? \ lot CT brick houses trying to stick
or the SIDE 0! a biuf have seen rough things
generally, and il obliged to stop here few
days thnk YOU have perfect right to feel
homc>.ck. Bat when You come into the mi
ning country You must not expect 70 find
smooth prarIes and smiling fields, but obs,i-
nate knobs OF hills and rugged rocks. Indeed
when the locomotive began dodging around
these fellows before arriving at Galena, YOU
were then il: the mining country.
suppose, on stepping on the platform Q!
Galcua station, and looking around, one fees
about the same as he does when stepping ou,
of the cars at Barnet. He sees part of "city
on hill, that cannot be hid while there i,
more that he can't see, and which IS hid-fol
the nonce. II he has an eye for the pictur
e>quc lie sees much that he can admire i
takes a days tramp and view from the Gu
pola Of the Central High School building t
get a good idea of Galena. An impression
gained from a look through the car window $
or from the platform at the station, is alway!
a mistaken one. From the High Schoo
buidiHs-which is high in more senses thar
one-you see buildings On hills. commanding
extensive views, you see beautiful residence
half hidden IN groves cottages mostly OF
rilsides, and tucked snugly away in out-of
theway places you see hills to the South
praires in the distance towards the North
while to the West are the long blue s,retche
Of the Mississippi bluffs. You are delighted
Down at your feet almost, is the Galena riv
or, tvs ing around, closely followed by tn
railroad, while the business part of the cit
is closely packed alorg its banks, under tn
bIutf. II YOU look attentive!y in the out
skirts OF the city, YOU will perceive yellowisl
looking piles of dust These are the mouth
OF the "shafts," or they may be the dir
thrown out of the sucker holes" of whcl
more anon.
} If now, we 90 down on the levee-I an
r supposng this is in the season of the yea
: when avigation is open-we will see hug
piles Of pigs" not porkers, but pigs of lead
. all regularly piled as pile of wood is "bu,
ted up in Vermont that is, they are lai
five pigs in a layer, each layer laid across tn
last. Each pig weighs about II pounds. Il
loading them on the steamboats, they are care
: fully placed, one layer deep, along the boile
: deck, directly above the supports below deck
, In bringing them from the furnace to the lie
wee, they are laid in the wagon in two smaI
piles one at each end, directly over the axle>
: But am wandering from my subject Gale
ma is on the head of navigation on Fever O
Gaiena river. about five miles from the Mis-
: sissippi, and the water from the latter back
r ing up 10 this city makes the Galena rive
} navisable. Above this point the stream is a
bout two-thirds as large as Sleerer's river il
f St Johnsbury. The good people of Galen
are much opposed to having it called Feve
river. 1t smacks too much of fever an,
I ager." If you call it by that name it mus
! be spelled Fevre, the "e' last, because the
say il was SO called from a Frenchman VIII
"once on time tiourished near it but the
have mad many conversations with the oil,
settlers, have never heard of any of his ex
plolts, and hence am inclined to think him
N! thlcal parsonage, brought forward TO fiat
ter conceit of the Galenians. Sure it IS
fever and ager" was once common here