Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1872-02-27
sS SaE Vol. %, NO. 80.

4 VI Vuf cleFatlOh ABOVE III 10 the aOOV
: named counties, which will be no
g less than 1000 feet. Here I25 mile
to the north of the lead district. W,
: ind q continuation of the same nortl
and south elevation, and gaining il
? height as we go north.
, While on this trip, / made hasty
, visit to Lake Superior, by way o
, Duluth and Bayfield,, to where thi
north and south elevation would in
tersect the lake. Reaching the shor,
at Ashland, | extended my observa
tons south about twenty miles, neal
the west of range 4, west
From this point / extended my OBJ
servations east toward the fourth
principal meridian, through an almost
inpenetrable forest, aud found the
same geological arrangement of par
f allel ridges, with just the sam bear.
ings as those in the lead district, and
all dipping down and dying out a:
they extend west. Here we are all
together in the azoic formation, with
the strata very much disturbed, con.
sequently it is impossible to Judge as
accurately as when we have undis-
turbed rocks for our guide; and further.
more, at this point the axis we have
been following north, forms iuucs
ton with an east and west axis OF
elevation, known TO extend from
Labrador to the sources of the Mss
sissippi.
RICH BEDS OF MARL.
South Of Ashland the country is
mostly covered with very thick bed
of mari, forming basis for agricul-
ture such as we seldom meet with,
and supporting now forest of which
the State may be proud, but hiding
mostly her mineral treasures and
their phenomena. 1t was not until
reached the base of the Penokee ele-
walton, along the Bad AK river coun
try, that | could get good exposure
of the rocks. But along this region
and to the east of it, good exposures
OF the strata are Occasional lily met
with.
In but few places whore the azoic
rocks are exposed as the surface rock,
do we find stronger evidences of me-
chanlcal disturbance, and long con-
tinued exposure to the heat, than
here. The mechanical forces, how
ever, by which these strata have been
brought up to such an angle, do not
seem to have acted with great vic,
lence, but to have acted through long
periods of time. The rocks are not
fractured, as in many places, and the
systems of dykes are mostly Gas far
as what came under my observation
running with the strata, and between
the different beds, crossed by smaller
veins cutting the strata at right an
giles.
there is q beautiful exposure of trap,
conglomerate, and other members Of
the azoc formation. These different
beds are almost perpendicular, and
and have bearing almost north and
south. Where | could get a good
sight with the compass, the bearing
WAS about north, ten degrees east.
Between the trap here, (Which is q
beautiful amygdaloid) and the con.
glomerate, there is what Cornish
miner would call great cross course.
Tho geological position, physical con-
ditions, and various other indications
Of mineral strata found here, are such
as would lead US TO suppose that this
is one of the most likely places in the
State tor large and extensive ore de-
posts. At the Penokee elevation,
vast and almost inexhaustible beds OF
magnetic iron ore stand exposed.
| Along those belts between this and
the lake, good specimens of both lead
and copper have been found, although
the country is almost inaccessible to
explorers, and have no doubt that
when systematic investigation is
made, either by the state or private
enterprise, that other minerals will
be found, especially on the south of
! Penokee elevation, such as graphite,
gypsum. apatite, or the native phos-
phate Of lime, and other minerals of
this class, now so much needed by the
state for agricultural and other pur-
poses
COMPARED WITH MINES IN GREAT BRIT
AIN.
These phenomena, such as an axis
Of elevation across which belts of
mineral land are found at right ans
giles, are no new features in mineral
strata, but are the common, though
very important, features of old and
long established mining regions. AS
an evidence of this | will introduce
one or two examples here. Van
Cotta's treatise on mines in Wales
says:
"Cambrian clay states and related
rocks predominant on the west coast
of Wales. These states are not dis
turbed by igneous rocks, and contain
numerous lodes at the boundaries Of
Cardiganshire and Montgomeryshire.
The district containing them is about
40 miles long by 5 to 22 miles broad,
extending north, north TO south
and southeast, and lodes, as rule,
strike east, northeast, west and
and southwest consequently almost
at right angles to the longest axis of
the entire belt"
Suppose now we 60 to the Western
part of England, and drive down o
stake at the extreme northwestern
point of Lands Fad, in Cornwall ;
and from that take measure about 20
or so miles east, and drive down an
other, (that shall be about the width
of the lead district in Wisconsin. y
Now let US draw two lines from these
stakes Dorth to Scotland, distance
Of three hundred miles or more, and
then see what will be included with
in those boundaries We have all
the mines of Cornwall Wales, Angle
sea, and the Isle of Man on the north.
South from Lands End our lines go
across the English channel.and strike
belt of mineral land on the west
| e E..pna ggnhia a