St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-02-26

What the Northwest {CouEdries
Need-Hundreds of Choppers
at Work to Supply Charcoal.
from the Sunday Globe.
Special to the Globe
WILSON, Wis, Feb. 24.-Dnring the
last decade, no greater shadow of COM
ing events has been cast for this sec
ton of country, induStrially and COM
mercially speaking, then the cast made
by the Eagle Furnace, at Spring Valley.
Wis, last Tuesday. "rell it not in Gath.
Let it not be known IN Askelon." st.
CroiX county is now making charcoal
pic iron for the Northwest. Evidently
the Twin Cities have no adequate con.
ception of the pregnancy of this state
ment; YOU will have later, g. G.. The
GLOBE, being the only daily that
deemed the event OF sufficient import
ance for passing notice.
Feeling that your many readers will
be interested in learning some farther
particulars with reference TO a matter
that is fraught with so much material
interest to every resident OF this county.
impelS me TO try and crafty them. The
Eagle furnace is Il modern SiXty-ton hot
blast, and was erected last year under
the careful supervision of Frank Eagle,
who was drilled in the iron business, in
detail, by his father, who was also
successful irOnmaster away down at
Marietta, 0 the limpid Susquehannah.
of the OLE, Keystone state. When the
iron business began moving West of the
Blue Alleghanies. Mr.. Eagle followed it
up, graduating himself from the iron
school of experience in the Sucker
state. About two years ago Hon. D. NJ.
Sabin, who has done more for the de-
velopment OF this county than any other
nonresident, had the good fortune to
interest Mr.. Eagle in the furnace pro-
ject. II visit and careful examination
satisfied his practiced eye that nature
had bountitully prepared superior ad-
vantages for the economical manufac-
ture of charcoal iron; indeed all the
constituents that enter therein lie prac-
tically at the furnace doors. In addi-
ton to ali this the question: What
quality of iron will this brown
dynamite ore make? did not
become factor in the es-
adjustment of this plant, thanks to the
persistent energy and enlerpriSIng
spirit of j. A. Wilson,. of this place,
who, at his own risk and expense,
shipped ore from the Arthur mine" to
the furnace OF the York Iron company,
at Black River Falls, and had mahu-
featured 500 tons of pig IRON, at a cost
exceeding S14 per ton. Mr.. Burt, the
mandger of the furnace, was highly
prejudiCed against the ore, owing to the
fact that he had had great deal of
trouble in trying to work the Black
River ore, which attempt he finally
abandoned. However, after working
his furnace short time on this ore his
fears vanished, and ne now regards it
as one Of the very easiest ores to work.
either alone or as a mixture. Mr.. Will
son sold the product 10 foundrieS in
Chicago. Eau Claire, Saltwater, ST.
Paul, Minneapolis, Brainerd and other
points. The iron. by his Instructions,
was subjected to the most rigorous
tests, and without a single exception
was pronounced par excellence. Its
fine grain and wonderful tlulditY make
it marvellous scrap carrier, testing
satisfactorily as high as 70 per cent in
this direction, rivaling the famous
Scotch pig.
1t Will be seen that Mr.. Eagle is in
dulging lin no experiment, but is en-
gagged in turning out Nos. and hard
and soft charcoal pig iron that just
meets the requirements of our North
western foundries. Mark the prediction,
stick pin here; inside of i've years
st. CrOiX county will have the second
charcoal furnace in blast. The benefits
accIung to this side of the county,
from this enterprise, can hardly be
estimated. 1t marks new era in our
history. Three hundred men are now
choppng cord wood for charcoal, with
100 more engaged in the other DEPART
ments. sThis all means cleaning up
slashed lands, new farms. vast con-
sumption OF supplies, and general pros
perity for st. CrOiX county.