St. Paul daily globe., 1891-11-26

settlers of the state, in ascending the
Mississippi river, could not fail to be
impressed with the magnitude Of its
limestone deposits, valuable for ali
building purposes. As they spread
over the prairies along the valleys of
the streams they discovered the out
groupings of the same material for
many miles beyond the borders of the
great river. Ali through the southeast
ern portion of the state, as far west as
Dodge county, these rocks are found IN
abundance.
Farther to the west, ut points on the
Minnesota river. sandstone abOunds,
and in some of the southwestern coun-
ties, notably PipestOne and Rock, are
peculiar deposits which have rendered
that region famous, and have long been
known and held almost sacred by the
Indian tribes occupying that quarter of
the state. The amount of piDeStOne and
jasper in that part of the state is, to all
appearances, ineXhaustible.
To the north and east, along the
Upper Mississippi and Lake Superior.
granite in large quantities, of great
varieties and of very superior quality.
is being Quarried on an extensive scale
for home consumption and for ship
ment Ear beyond the borders of the
state.
There are. probably, few common
wealths in which the variety of what
are known as the economic rocks" is
so great, and whose quality is equal to
those produced III Minnesota. The
brown and red sandstones of the Lake
Superior regions have been utilized for
the past quarter of a century, and are
constantly growing in favor as depth is
attained in the working of the deposits.
They are shipped to all parts Of the
country.
All these varieties of mineral and
their superior qualities are too we'll
known to need anything more than a
passing notice. 1t is. therefore, to the
abundance and superior quality of the
iron ores of Northern Minnesota that it
is the purpose of this article especially
to notice.
Wealth Of Iron
Until within few years the country
to the north of Lake Superior has been
regarded as terra incognita." No con-
ception of its vast wealth has, until re-
Gently, been formed by even the more
Intelligent people of the state. In fact
lC w VI lilCiiA az " ohpAS u SAAO AhhA@
nitude and the great value of the iron
deposits or the north shore country.
The discovery of these deposits may
be said to date from the period when
explorations were n.ade in the vicinity
of Vermllion lake for gold. The ear
lieStS tests of the rocks at this place are
claimed to have been made in the year
1861. These tests were made by party
consisting of Amos Hall, of st. Paul,
and MessrS. Ely, Johnson and Mayhem,
who proceeded to the lake by the usual
route, up the st. Louis river by canoe,
in search of gold. They brought down
some quartz mixed with slate, that as
saved, according to the United States
mint, $3.50 per ton in gold.
The first blasting, with view to dis
covering the quality Of the iron ores,
was made, however, i'll 1915, when
George Il. StuntZ, John HOul, William
Y. Bushue aud John Mailman visited
the VermiliOn. Mr.. Stuntz had first
discovered the iron ore on what are
known as Lee Hill and Tower Hlll.near
what is now the village of Tower.
This party commenced stripping an
ore body on the east end of the Lee
Hill. where Mr.. Stuntz had discovered
iron during the gold excitement of 1866.
Mr.. Mailman was the only miner in the
party, and proceeded to put in blast
the first ever exploded in the Nermil-
ion range.
The drills were struck by Indians
and a hole was bored about five feet
deep. The blast threw out mass OF
ore showing the drilling, which is still
| to be seen near the spot. After this in
cident the party went over to Birch
| lake. looking over what are now known
as the Chandler, Pioneer, Smith and
! the Eaton Merritt groupings.
Further exploration and deVelOpme ent
| of this region were delayed for many
years on account of the lack OF railroads
| to convey the ores TO the lake. The
| final and successful attempt to work the
mines and build a road from them to
| Lake Superior was commenced under a
| charter granted TO the Duluth & Iron
! Range railroad in 1874. George Z. Stone
| now a resident of st. Paul, was the pio
neer in this work. After incredible
| labor and difficulty he at last succeed
ed in
Interesting Capital
70 operate the mines and build the rail
road from Vermilion lake to Lake Su
| neriOr at Agate bay. now Two HarbOrs
| The road was completed 10 the lake il
| 1884, and the first shipments were made
| in the latter part of that year. The rOaC
was extended to Duluth along the lake
shore some two years after.
The elevation of Lake Superior is 60:
feet above tide watar. Tower junction
is 1877 feet above the same. The ridge:
in which the mines are located rise
| however, to the extreme height Oi
| 1,600 feet above the ocean, but they are
| generally about 1850 feet in attitude
so that the grade to be overcome be
tween the lake and the mines is abou
900 feet. The road was built with grea
care and in the most substantial man
ner, in order to be prepared for The
heavy traffic which it was certain Il
secure as soon as completed.
The total length of tile road from Du
luth to Ely. 81 miles east of Tower, i!
1875 miles.
The extent of country occupied by
these iron deposits IS much greater than
is usually supposed. The ores are founC
in two different ranges. The upper, o.
VermiIion range, extends from town
ship 60 in a northeasterly direction Il
and beyond the Canadian border. Th'
MesabI range, about fifteen miles to th'
south and running in the same direc
ton, commences practically at the Mis-
slssippi river and extends further cas-
beyond the border of the state. 1t i
estimated that the area of these dis
tricts is not less than 1,250,0O0 to 1,500,
900 acres, or about 1000 square miles
The outcroppings do not. of course
appear on every quarter section
between these points, nor eVel
in every town, but the gen
eral trend of the vein matte
can be followed and traces
the entire distance. The probability i
that the magnitude of these deposit
will not be known for some time t
come. A large part of the territory i
as yet unexplored. 1t is covered mostI.
by forest. and is much of it difficult o
access. Within this territory there ar
single tracts whose value is almost III
calculable. One quarter section, know
as the Eaton-Merritt claim, has been il
litigation for many years, and is still il
contest. The value of this single quar-
ter section, upon which no work of i'm
portance has yet been done. Is estlmate'
all the way from S50o,0O) up into tn
| millions and there are other tract