St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-10-14

age of 81. ZOO. OOO.0O0 is said to be tribu-
tary TO Duluth. while the white pine
still standing in Minnesota mas been
stated at 10000. COG, 900 feet.
MINNESOTA IRON.
The two Minnesota iron ranges enter
the state practically together. near its
northeast corner, bat soon diyerge, one,
known as the VermilIon. keeping more
nearly TO the west. and the other, called
the Mesaba, tending SOMEWHAT sharply
toward the south. They extend from the
Canadian boundary TO the Mississippi
river. about 100 10 150 miles, and the
area OF the townships in which the for
nation has been traced is over l, T0Q,-
600 acres. The mines of the Vermilllon
range are chiefly prodncers OF hard
ores, whose deposits occur in the famll :
lar Shape of deep. but comparatively
narrow veins, inclined vertically. The
MeSaba ores. on the contrary. are OF the
soft variety, and are found in pockets"
OF Sedlnentary formation, spread over a
greater or less extent of territory and
covered by glacial drift Of varying thick
ness. In some places this covering is
so thin as to admit of easy removal by
stripping" and of mining the ore Will
steam shoveis. The better opinion,
however. seems to be that underground
mining is TO be the method by which
the great bulk of the Mesaba ores will
ultimately be raised. No better grade
of ore exists, so far as known, that can
be found in the mines of both these
ranges.
The first shipment from the Vermil-
lion range was i'll 1884, and was $1,000
tons, IN round numbers. The output
for 1892 was 1,150.00O tons, while the
total production to date may be put ap-
prOximately at 6,000.000 tons. About
100000 tons will probably be shipped
from the Mesaba range during the cur
rent season. This, however, affords but
slight index of the extent and produc-
tivity Of this new deposit. Within three
years more than a hundred mining
corporations have been formed to eX-
ploIt this range, to say nothing OF the
great number of explorations by lndl-
ylduais. Within the last twenty months
more than forty mines have been dis
covered, of which twenty-five may
safely be relied upon to be shippers OF
ore next season. and at least seven are
In condition to ship now. Two railroads
have built extensions to the mines. and
one has been newly constructed and
equipped, the latter connecting at Du-
luth with all ore dock which has a Ca
pacity of $1,000 tons, required l0,000,000
feet OF timber to erect it, and is the
largest in the world. In the vicinity of
the new mines seven villages have
sprung up. some of them already boast
ing buildings of brick, water systems,
lighting plants, banks, school houses,
churches, newspapers and all the para
phernalla OF metropolitan life.
Some conception of the magnitude of
this new accession to the ranks Of ore
producers may be had from the fact
that, while the total production of the
old Lake Superior from mines to date is
given at less than "a, 600, 900 tons, there
are seven mines Oh the MeSaba range
which are stated by reliable authority
to contain an aggregate of 100,00o,000
tons of ore, the grerter part Of a BESSIE
mer grade. Truly the giant AkesaDa,
whom the Indians fable to be the
guardian of wealth boarded in the
bosom OF the earth, has well given his
name TO SO tremendous treasure.
BOOM FOR THE MESABA.
In 1910 the country produced 100000
tons of iron ore; in 1850. 1.5OO, 600 tons {;
and, after an equal inlerval, in 1890, the
grond aggregate of 14,5O0. 900 tons. In
1865 we made S4O,0 tons of pig iron,
which by 1892 grew to the magnificent
amount of 100000 tons. In 1865, our
manufacture of steel was paltry $4,000
tons: in 1892 it was 100000 tons. In
1882 the steel industry was content with
the labor of fifteen works and thirty
eight converters; i'll 1892 it could not do
with less than fOrty-eight works ana
ninety-eight converters. In 1850 a cap
ital invested of S62, 100000 sufhced to do
the business of iron production in the
United States; in 1899 it required S11o,-
100000. In 1870 over 81 per cent of our
Bessemer product was in steel rails; in
1892 only 10 per cent was of that charac
ter, new uses having absorbed the eDor-
nous difference. Finally, it has been
calculated by the highest authority that,
assuming the demand for stcel-making
ores TO increase from now to 1900 i'll the
same ratio of increase as for the last
forty years. the manufacturers of this
country will in that not diStaut year re-
Quire 30,0000o0 tons of BeSSemer iron
ore. Who says there is not room for the
MeSaba?
RINGING THE LIBERTY BELL.
The exercises concluded at $50, and
from there the governor and his party
proceeded to the new liberty bell, which
he rang, as all the other governors have.