Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-02-15
THE MARROW GAUGE RAILROAD
Interesting Statistics Conserving the Mineral
and Other Products or Southern wtsconsfn.
MoSrroRr, Jan. so, 1877.

MoNTFoRT, Jan. so, 1877.
To r. BARRETT, Esq, Galena, Illinois:
DEAR Sir: On my way home on Saturday
last, got to thinking of statements had
made in regard to the probable earnings of
the Narrow Gauge if il was run to Wingyille.
| stated to YOU and others that neither the
estimates of its earnings, if run here, made by
Yourself and John Lorrain, came within fifty
per cent of what it would earn. You told me
that you thought you had under-rated ii, but
that you believed / was little wild in my
estimate so l concluded that when got home
/ would collect such reliable statistics as |
could in regard to the drysbone and blacks
jack yield of this section of country, that you
nor no other man can dispute. | will also
draw map of this section of country, which
will embrace from the south line of Township
8, Range1 west, being the town of Platteville;
also town West and town East in La Fay
cite County, to the North of town on the
same Range. win give you the acreage OF
the different kinds of grain sown and planted
in the town of Wingville, in the year 1876;
also, the number of horses, mules, cattle,
sheep and swine assessed in the town of Wing
vile for-the year 1874, 1875 and 1876 and
If | were at Lancaster | would give you sta
tisties from all the towns that | will have on
the map accompanying this, that are in Grant
County. But / will give you the cassifca-
ton of the different towns as equalized by the
County Board of Supervisors, so that you VIII
be able to make an estimate of the acreage
of the different grains, and the probable
amount of stock, in proportion to the number
of tiabe acres and quality of land. When
YOU have made your estimate of the probable
amount you would draw to your Road, from
Grant County, then you can double the amount,
as believe YOU can draw as much from La
Fayette and Iowa Counties as you can from
Grant, and as a general thing there is better
land near the line of Road after you leave
Platteville in the former than in the latter
In all the section of country which L have
mentioned, the farmers are turning their at
tention to growing fax instead OF wheat, ow-
ing to the uncertainty of wheat for the last
few years. The yield of fax seed is, on the
average, from six to thirteen bushels TO the
acre, and think nearly all OF 1t might De
secured to your Road. John Hadheid handles
about two-thirds of all that is marketed at
Mineral Point, Platteville and Belmont. In
estimating the number of hogs to be marketed
YOU can count the full number on the assess.
ment book. The estimate is made on the first
day of May, and sucking pigs are not included
Our farmers make their own meat out OF the
pigs not counted in the assessment in May,
and some farmers market pork out OF their
Nav pigs; and if you take an ACREAGE OF the
hogs slaughtered by J. M. Ryan, you viii not
miss the average of our hogs much. Inen
there is the article OF hoop poles, which is
LARGE item of revenue to the Milwaukee
Prairie du Chen Railroad l have seen as
many as eight cars loaded with hoop poles
leave Boscobel in one train, and sometimes as
mand from Muscoda, besides some from Blue
Island Station, Avoca and other stations along
the line. A great many OF them are hauleo
from our section of country. think your
Road could successfully compete for good
portion of this freight. There 10 another item
which would be worth looking after, and that
is fax straw. There is fax mill at Belmont
which takes the straw, breaks, presses and
ships it somewhere If this matter were en-
auired into and some enterprising man start
such business up here, there could be thous-
ands of tons of it furnised annually. You can
estimate from twenty to twenty-five cords OF
wood daily from the timber along the road' 10
be taken TO Cuba City, Benton, and some
point near Hazel Greene and Galela told
YOU that was satisfied you could gel one
hundred tons of black jack, dry~bone and lead
or mineral per day. Since coming home, am
fully confirmed that did not over estimate It,
There will be without doubt from Ceuterville
and surrounding country thirty>tye tons per
day; from Highland thirty tons; Linoen, NH
lin, Crow Branch, New California and wash
burne will make up the balance. VIII snow
you on the map the road leading to Linden ana
Miffiin. and your Road will be about the same
distance from Linden as Mineral Point, with
a great deal better road to your Road. Mill
lin is about five miles from Washburne, and
another point on your Road, while Mineral
Point is about twelve miles from Mliiiin, Win
a very bad road to get to it. To satisfy my
self in regard to the amount of blackjack and
dry>bone raised about Centeryille, spent
few hours there on Sunday, looking over the
books of Nordorf Kruel g. Top, and found
that they collected rent for three years on
l4.954 tons of Jack and bone, being Is tons
per day for 3l3 working days per year. TINS
company owns about one half OF the mlnerai
lands around Centerville, including HornsnogIe
and Section A. There is no way OF knowing
to a certainty the amount ralsed on o.he,
lands, as great many dig on thelr own iailu
and haul the ore themselves; but the general
opinion. as expressed by the miners, Is that
there is as much raised on those lands as there
is on the Company's, and Mr.. Allen told me
that when he gets his crusher to work, ne VIII
add eight or ten tons per day to the product
of Centervill, which will be IN about SIX
weeks. He intends to wash all the refuse, SO
that Centerville can be relied on for thirty
Eve tons per day for years to come. will
now give you the number of horses, mules,
cattle sheep and hogs as assessed IN this towp
during the last three years;
ls74-477 horses, mules, l,l4l cattle,
6l8 sheep, 1880 hogs.
ls15-4sF horses, ID mules, ,OS4 cattle,
1853 sheep $50 hogs.
1876-5lS horses, II mules, l,l43 cattle,
500 sheep, 1920 hogs.
The acreage of grains sown and planted in
1876 was: Wheat, l,647, acres; oats, $40
acres; corn, 800 acres; rye, 81 acres; max,
1852 acres.
By the foregoing you can make an estimate
of the probable amount of freight going south.
After Won have done this. make your estimates
| of what will be wanted to go north In the
| first place you may put dowr TOR north Oh
| Platteylle. 40, 900 feet of lumber per day, and
| believe it will amount to $4,000 feet; then
there will ba all the heavy groceries, iron,
nails, salt COAL ETC., to supply the merchants
of Highland, Montfort Centerville, Martin
vile. Animation, Fennimore Center, Washourne,
| Gross Plains and think Linden and Mifiiln,
as freight to Galena can be had cheaper than
any other route. This you know yourseif,
having sold Marshall s. Billings, OF this place,
| nails at the same price for which they could De
| bought IN EmOdBO VI hh"ouhSS 49,
either Milwaukee or chicago the freight would
cost hem IS cents per key to Muscoda, from
Muscoda to Montfort % cents per keg, from
| platteville to Montfort 26 cents per keg; so
Won will see that they saved Al cents per keg
by buying in Galena-or about Is per cent.
| Then after you have estimated all this, there
is one item that win pay handsomely, that is
Messengers aud excursionists. There would
be excursions from every point on the Road
going north or south. There will be e., fen nn
more, Clifton, Highland and Miiiin, thae you
may estimate hogs and farm produce 20 per
cent. more than Wingville. will send you
newspaper with the proceedings of our County
Board for 1875, and also one for 1876, SO that
| YOU can see the class6cations of our towns.
| Now. after YOU have examined this matter
all through, and made youT calculation on the
probable earnings of the Road when completed
to Wingyille. at fair rates, If you cannot inquire
II up to $500 per day for 3l3 days per year.
YOU are not as good on figures as | take you
| to be. ),
Since coming home have talked with sew
ersl OF the miners, and if make start with