The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-11-02
THE LEAD MINES OF LIE.
TRADITIONS CONCERNING THEM IN
PENNSYLVANIA.

TRADITIONS CONCERNING THEM IN
PENNSYLVANIA.
A Blacksmith of Former Days Who Ran
Into Bullets Ore Supplied by Indians.
Pointers That Do Not Deve1op-Red
Mems 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
and 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 7
cen miles east of Meadville There is no
doubt in the minds of plenty of entirely |
rational people that somewhere within, |
or continuously without, the region of
country which these towns bound, there
is locality where an exceptionally good
quality OF lead ore may be obtained, or,
at least. the locality where ore of such
quality was obtained formerly by the
Indians, both for their own use and to
sell or trade to the white settlers. As
the source of this supply was carefully
kept a secret by the fundamentally OF
Chief Cornplanter's tribe-and has never
been discovered. it is regarded as rea-
sonable to infer that it may yet be
source of profit as to believe that it was
exhausted.
\ PIONEERS EXPERIENCE.
AT what is now Bradleytown, vii
lage three miles southwest of here, on
/ one of the branches of Sugar Creek, a
/ pioneer named Jacob Jennings lived 100
| years ago and had near his pioneer
! house a small blacksmith shop From
/ Mrs. Samuel Matson, of Chapmanville,
and John Jennings, of Sunville, some
interesting "reminiscences were obtained
as related by their. father, who was %
son of Jacob Jennings. The latter, at
his blacksmith shop. frequently smelted
and run into bullets rich lead ore sup
piled by the Indians. They made peri
odical trips to this place for that pur-
pose Coming up from the Allegheny
river they made it a point to reach his
home in the evening, there being usually
several in the party. They would be
allowed to stay and would sleep around
the fireplaces in the house and shop. At
davleeak they would strike northward
up the creek and would return few
hours later with stock of the lead
product to be melted No amount OF
persuasion, OF barter or of purchase
price would cause them to disclose the
whereabouts of the lead deposits.
= Fifty years ago, according to a mem
Der of the family. Mrs. Robert Gillespie
and Il daughter, then a little girl, were
lost in the woods, and during their wan
: derings found along a ravine an out
: cropping of lead-flled rock, piece o
t which they took with them. After find
t ing their way home they were unable tC
Q find their way back with older member!
q of the family to the point where they
had found the lead Various and, con
5 tinuous searches have been made since
I along the ravines in that section, on
/ enthusiast devoting a considerable por
{ ton of a year to the search; but asid
n from a fragment weighing about fou
d pounds, and found in a field in Randolph
T. township, Crawford county, where
e had apparently been dropped, no lea
IS ore has been discovered.
1t MATERIAL FOR PRosPECToRs.
a The prospector able to develop point
n ers from Indian relics may find consic
10 cradle material in that line in this SCI
s ton At Wallaceville, three miles soutf
east of here, he may find a whole field {
yet well defined mounds and excav'
tions. A mile north of here, just aero;
v the line in Crawford county. he ma
ie find remnants of several large stoI
u piles constructed of stones having not
IL c., i4xviv ci1o nd lo6 nm
e. the Indians for some unknown purpo.
IL before the time of the earliest settler
e, If he will follow the plow for a seaso
ne in the southwestern part of this tow
n ship-Plum township, Venango count
ed or the northerly adjoining township
n Troy, in Crawford county, his labo
en- will probably be rewarded with fire:
Ay stock of pipes, weapons and other reli
en- of the noble and ignoble Lo.
ne If he will further follow the plow i'll
field along the Sugar Greek fats, abo
10 two miles north of the Jacob Jennin!
dy homestead, and will fail to lift the poi
'n of his plow when he reaches a certa
10 point in that field, his plow handles w
lot smite him hip and thigh and put him
mi rout The cause thereof will be that t
no plow point will strike the edge of a circ
,ly lar bed of burned and pounded stone
ot' is about ten feet in diameter, projects
OK the top of the ground where efforts ha
II not been made to get down to the b.
pot tom of it, and is known to have be
ner there fully $50 years-how much long
no man knows, as it was then, accol
ing to pioneer tradition, as much m
ter of mystery and antiquity as at pr
~ ent.
as If the lead prospector chooses 10 C
u slider it of no value to him, he may
gard it as one of the places where
Norsemen, poking out this way FRI
-of' Newport and the vicinity of Bost'