The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1891-11-06
LEAD MINES OF 10.
TRADITIONS CONCERNING THEM IN
PENNSYLVANIA.

G6tNtN0 eVSlNtNs
A Blacksmith Of Former Days Who Ran
Into Bullets Orc Supplied by Indians.
Pointers That Do Not Devclop-Rcd
! Hens Pipes and Weapons.
Where. If anywhere, are the lead
mines of northwestern Pennsylvania In
connection with attempts to answer this
question the writer hereof, in boyhood,
harvested many stone bruises by day
M treasure dreams by night, together
with numerous traditions of the days Of
practically unbroken forests, bears
grease and primeval economy.
This section, comprising parts of
northern Venango and southern Craw-
ford counties, is about forty miles south
OF Cory, sixteen miles north of Oil City,
ten miles west of Titusville and eight
cen miles east of Meadville. There is no
doubt in the minds Of plenty of entirely
rational people that somewhere within,
OF CONTINUOUSLY without, the region of
country which these towns bound, there
is u locality where an exceptionally good
quality of lead ore may be obtained. or.
Mt least, the locality where ore of such
quality WAS obtained formerly by the
Indians, both for their w use anil to
sell or trade to the white settlers. As
the source Of tl.is supply was carefully
kept q secret Icy the Enthusiastically of
Chief Cornplaater' g tlibe-and has never
been discovered, it is regarded as rea-
sonable to infer tiiat it may yet be q
,,,.o al -. (sk .. - l.z1s...- H. ----
exhausted.
PIONEERS EXPERIENCE.
AT what ]. ROW l:~radleytown, Il vii.
lage three miles southwest of here, on
one of the branches of Sugar Creek, IL
pioneer named Jacob Jennings lived 100
years ago and had near his pioneer
house IL small blacksmith shop. From
Mrs. Samuel Matson, of C~!ap,nanville,
and John Jennings, of Sunyille, some
interesting "Reminiscences We're obtained
as related hS their father, who was a
son of Jacob Jennings. The latter, at
his blacksmith shop. frequently Emelted
and run into hullets rich lead ore sup
piled by the Indians. They made peril
cdical trips to this place for that pur-
pose. Coming TIP from the Allegheny
river they msae it IL point to reach his
hons in the evening, there being usually
several i'll TIE party. They would be
allowed to stay and would sleep around
the fircplaces IN the house and shop. AT
dayhreah they would strike northward
up the creek and would return a few
hours later with a stock Of the lead
product to he melted. No amount OF
persuasion, OF barter or of purchase
price would carse them to disclose the
whereabouts of the lead deposits.
Fifty years ago. according to a men,
Der of the family, Mrs. Robert Gillespie
and a daughter. then a little girl, were
lost in the woods, aad during their wan
behring's found along u ravine an out
cropping of lead-filled rock, a piece of
which they took with them. After find
ing their way home they were unable to
find their Way back with older members
of the family to the point where they
had found the lead. Various and con
tinuous searches have been made since
along the iavines in that section, one
enthusiast devoting u considerable por-
ton of Il year to the search; but aside
from IL fragment weighing about four
pounds, and found in u field in Randolph
township, county, wlleIe At
had apparently been dropped, no lead
ore has been discovered.
MATERIAL FOR PRosPEcToRs.
The prospector able to develop point
ers from Indian relics may find consid-
eTable material in that line in this Sec
ton. At Wallaceville, three miles south
east of here. he may find Il whole field of
yet we'll defined mounds and excava-
tions. a mile north of here, just across
the line in Crawford county, he may
find remnants of several large stone
piles constructed of stones having nota-
BILE uniformity in size and piled up by
the Indians for some unknown purpose
before the time of the earliest settlers.
If lie will follow the pillow for n season
in the southwestern part of this town
ship-Plum township. Venango county
-or the northerly adjoining township of
Troy, in Crawford county, his labors
will probably be rewarded with a fresh
stock of pipes. weapons and other relics
of the noble and ignoble Lo.
If he will further follow the pillow in a
field along the Sugar Greek flats. about
two miles north of the Jacob Jennings
homestead, and will fail to lift the point
of his plow when he reaches a certain
point in that field, his plow handles will
smite him hip and thigh and put him tc
rout. The cause thereof will be that the
plow point will strike the edge of a circu.
lar bed of burned and pounded stone II
is about ten feet in diameter, projects te
the top of the ground where efforts have
not been made to get down to the bot
tom of it, and is known to have beer
there fully $50 years-how much longer
no man knows, as it was then, accord.
} ing to pioneer tradition. as much a mat
ter of mystery and antiquity as at pres
ent.
If the lead prospector chooses to con
slider it of no value to him, he may re
gard it us one Of the places where the
Morsemen, poking out this way from
Newport and the vicinity of Boston
paused to bake beans. If lie is inclined
to be less skeptical he may do as tradi
$ ton says the early settlers did-regart
it us the foundation of a sort of lndial
crucible or furnace which served in par
as IL smelter for lead previous to the in
]. PRODUCTION of firearms on this continent
: and for purposes unknown.-Plum pa.
. Cor. Philadelphia Press.
Will the E;artl's Motion Cease?