Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1925-04-01
Early Mining Experiences.


will give the younger generation not
ito the manor born" some idea of the
county as it was in early days and the
mode of procedure employed by the
embryo millionaires of the time to
make a strike"
(From an old issue)
The district is embraced in the orig
inal Northwest territory ceded to Con-
gress by the state of Virginia. Upon
the eNtinguishment of the Indian title,
the fee simple, of course, vested in
Congress. The upper lead district"
as it was generally called, extended
about so miles north and south along
the Mississippi river, and about 60
miles east and west, embracing port
ions of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Perhaps the most prominent features
on the face of the country are the
Mounds" They are quite numerous,
among the most prominent being the
Blue, Sinsinawa and Platte Mounds.
Some of these mounds are one or two
hundred feet high, appear to be moth
ing more of less than hills dissolved
by time and gradual disintegration of
the rocks of which they are composed.
Rugged mountains RACED into mounds.
Standing upon these the traveller
sees the mining region spread out be-
fore him like a map. The greater part
of the land is prairie, though there is
an abundance of forests and barrens.
The prairie is mostly undulating, but
the forests and barrenS are strongly
marked with ridges and Tavines. No
country in tn eworld is more abund-
antly watered. Every ravine has its
rivulet
The most successful mining opera
tions have been in the barrens, where
the land is broken into irregular lobes
or swells, ranging in altitude from 10
to 100 feet.
In prospecting the miner generally
commences by digging q hole as large
as a we'll, on the north and south side
of the hill in some raVine leading up
the side If, in sinking the shaft, he
finds scattered mineral float" as it is
termed, he infers that it has descend
ed from an east and west crevice
above. 1t is then termed a prospect"
and the miner is encouraged to sink
another hole a few feet further up the
ravine. If in the next shaft he finds
the mineral still stronger" that is,
larger and more abundant, and of a
character indicating the near approach
to the crevice from which it "foated,
he throws into a pile all pieces of min
eral he has found and calls it "show
a good show or a bad show, as the
fact may be. The speculator upon eX-
animation of a show, often buys.
The discoveries show prospect OF
a lead. The more prospect of finding
a large body of mineral is frequently
sold for hundreds of dollars. The
miner now proceeds to prove his pros
pect; that is to extend a range OF
prospect holes up the hill to the crew
ice. If he should pass over the crew
ice i'm prospecting, he will find no min
eral in the holes he may sink, because
mineral never floats up hill He then
commences drifting, that is digging
horizontally from the bottom of the
last hole in which he struck min
eral. toward the bottom of the next
hole above, and in his progress he
strikes the creyice, which may, after
all the labor in finding it, be barren
crevice containg little mineral On
fine other hand the lead may be worth
many thousands of dollars. Since the
labor of raising the mineral when dis
covered. is comparatively little and thU
ore is worth when raised from SIO 10
sos per thousand pounds. Tin some
wears it has gone much higher ana IN
the last days of the Civil war II
brought as high as $11 Oper Thousand
pounds, and is now sold for 300 per
thousand pounds Ed.)
"Crevices," of course. vary IN depth
and width. Some of them are open
ines thirty or forty feet wide, between
Derpendicular wall rocks. Inc ore IS
generally found mixed with OGRE anu
rock. but is some times found IN solld
masses Where all mineral is founu
in sinking A shaft, the miner common
cac drifting east and west in the crew
ices for more mineral For this pur-
nosa it is sometimes necessary to
brace the aperture with timbers TO
nrevent caving. Sometimes lead is
worked out by means of level. that IS
tunnel being dug in the bottom of
crevice through the hill. In this tun-
mel is constructed a cheap railroad for
carving out the contents of the crew
ice The principal crevices run east
and west, those running north ana
so,1th contain smaller quantities, gem
nralIv in horizontal sheets running
from one-half to two inches thick,
and are sometimes cut out by east and
Sometimes after drifting few rods
the crevice "closes up" but frequently
nv sinking another shaft still further
east or west, on the same creVlce. an
other opening is found and the miner
al comes in good again. Leads vary
greatly in extent. Some are wide ana
deem. while others are narrow ana
shaIeIow. Some run well, while others
give out in a few rods. Occasionally
8 crevice is found widening into
"chamber" containing an immense
body of mineral
Tt is not, however, every creVlce
which contains mineral-the sangulne
miner sometimes comes to the bottom
of barren crevice. confident all the
time that he is about to strike MN
eraI. and after all his labor, hnds that
the crevice is closed up at the bottom
with solid rock He leans, perhaps on
the handle of his pick. the very image
of despair. and then ascends into the
LIGHT of day by means of wlndlass.
In many places the miners have run
the mineral into the water. OF course
these water leads cannot be worked