The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1873-06-23

June 1s, 1873. !
10 the Rdlton OF the IntellIgcncer:
The growing relations Of Wheeling
aud vicinity to this famous mineral region
ol the Northwest warrant me In taking
for granted that some account Of It's pecu'
liar characteristics, as they impress them
selves upon q visitor. will be oI interest
10 YOUR readers. The furnaces going up
at Wheeling and Bellsirc, added to those
already in blast, will consume not far
rom a hundred thousand tons OF Lake
superior ore each year, while those al
Mingo and steubenvillC will consume as
much more. And yet this demand, i'm
nortsnt as 1t may seem, is but q drop In
tho bucket as compared with the furnish
.ug capacity Of this wonderful region, SO
rich IS 1t In the great deposit that now
moulds and almost controls the civlliza-
lion Of the world
This vast mineral wealth that Is only
low fairly opened TO commerce and man
ulactures lies almost wholly within what
is known as the Upper Peninsula Of Mich
igan-a small scope of country, but Ger
tsIply the richest area Of It's size In the
United States in the way OF natural re-
sources. l speak only Of its iron ore de.
posits and dol not include It's copper mines,
which 1t has not been my good fortune
thus far TO visit. OF the former it Is prob
uble that there Is enough to supply the
world lor at least one generation and that
is saying great deal when any one stops
tothink Of the universal consumption oi
iron.
You reach this country from Wheeling
10 two ways, either by boat or rail from
Cleveland. By water you come ria, Lake
Erie, Lake 81. Clair, Lake Huron and
Lake Superior, and the fare is fifteen dol
lars 10 Marquette, which is the mctropo-
lis Of the iron district. By rail you come
pm Chicago, thence Uid. the Northwest
eru railroad 474 miles, aud the fare from
Cleveland Is twenty-five dollars. The
distance Is about the same by either
route and Is nearly one thousand miles
lrom Wheeling. The lalitudeis between
the lOrty.sixth and IOrly.sevCnth parallels,
which would be nearly seven degrees
uorth of you, and Just that much nearer
the Arctic circle. You can imagine
therefore, what the country Is in point OF
climate. And ifyour Imagination needs
any assistance, can help il by the state
ment that only few days ago there was
any quantity Of ice to be seen IN the bay
al Marquette, blown in there by the wind
that had prevailed for weeks from the
north shore ofthe lake. They have sum.
meE now, however, and at midday the sun
shines as hot as any one can desire. But
tue nights are delightfully."- cool and pleas
gnt. AS q climate to sleep in from June
ultll September, l suppose 1t has no su'
perIor, providing always that you keep
Out Of the woods, for otherwise you will
eaten up by the musquitoes. which
prevail awIully throughout this country.
And speaking OF these mosquitoes, 1t
uas really been a puzzle 10 me how even
The Indians ever lived in these pine woods
seeing that they had no mosquito bars, for
have had abundance Of proof in watching
an Indian guide, whom we followed for
Two days, that even red skin is no pro.
lection irom,a mosquito and that 1t simp'
va question Of blood with them. don't
wonder that the country remained unset
lied until few years ago, and that it
took magnetic attraction in the shape OF
The oxyde Of iron, which IN It's last analy-
sis means the almighty dollar, to lure the
pale faces into these wIlls. "Sweet cash"
brings the white man every time. Nature
knew this peculiarity Of his and provided
for it by turning this country bottom
upwards.
Speaking Of upheavals, am not going
,nto q geological disquisitiOn rs to the
mineral leatuers Of this wonderful region.
In the slang Of the day, ~ will never tell
yOu' how the iron got here. But l will
simply say that two or three millions Of
years ago, more or less, in the Siluriau,
UevOnian, CarboniIerous, or Old Red
Sandstone period, or some other peri
ID, this ore was deposited deep
down under various slratas Of
rock, in trust for this railroad era Of ours,
and that according to programme grand
volcanic upheaval subsequCntly.took place
bringing up the first installment Of this
jeposIt as a sample Of what Ia 10 follow
Alter q million or two Of years have passed
away. AS you are aware the sample has
been pronounced good one, 80 good thai
even pale faces Of the better class have lef
homes Of comfort and come out here into
The wilderness and camped amid the mos
qutoes to open mines and build railroads
And this they arc doing at this particular
Tine with renewed energy and increased
capital owing to the great advance in the
price OF ore, which Is now valuable be-
yond all precedent. The excitement re-
minds me not q little oil the West Virginia
oil Juror during the war, The whole idea
oI the people is TO find Surface iDdica-
lion" or good show" as II is called
and then sell out to somebody for big
pnee aud so on fresh "lsy."
You remember what followed the sur
render at StAppomattox and the heavy de,
cline in gold In the spring Of 1855. How
tracts Of land that sold for thousands
would no longer sell for hundreds or ever
iof tens In many instances. History al
ways repeats itself and It will 6t
STpnsi1E II this country does moi
present respectable list Of vic
umi Atler the reaction In prices thai
a'uie 10 come next year. Not that the