Chapter XXV: Section V (2)

a. _Galena._ One of the most remarkable formations of this ore in America, if not in the world, is furnished by the metalliferous limestones of the Mississippi. Of these, Missouri furnishes one of the most celebrated localities. These mines were first explored by the renowned Mississippi Company, in 1719, and have continued to be worked during the successive changes which it has experienced under the French, Spanish, and Americans, to the present period. The number of mines now wrought is about fifty, and the quantity of lead annually smelted is estimated at three millions of pounds. The ore is the common galena, with a broad glittering grain, and bluish-gray color, and is found accompanied by sulphate of barytes, blende, pyrites, quartz, and calcareous spar. It yields, on assay, eighty-two per cent. of metallic lead, the remainder being chiefly sulphur. (Vide "View of the Lead-Mines.")

b. _Granular Sulphuret of Lead._ Mine La Motte, Madison county, Missouri.

c. _Cobaltic Sulphuret of Lead._ With the preceding.

40. OXIDE OF LEAD. Earthy, yellow. Wythe county, Virginia.

41. CARBONATE OF LEAD. Lead-mines of Missouri. It occurs in some of the mines as a crust, or thin layer, on ores of galena.

42. SULPHURET OF ZINC. In the form of black blende. Lead-mines of Missouri.

43. OXIDE OF ZINC. Earthy, grayish-white. In the mineral called "dry-bone." Missouri lead-mines.

44. IRON.

a. _Iron Glance._ In the Iron Mountain and Pilot Knob, on the sources of the river St. Francis, Missouri. It occurs in vast masses, granular, and sometimes specular, without iridescence. Also, on White river, Arkansas.

b. _Micaceous Oxide of Iron._ Sources of the St. Francis river, Missouri. A vein of this ore, several feet wide, is found in red sienite, on the banks of the river St. Francis, at the Narrows, Madison county, Missouri Territory. Its unusual appearance has for several years attracted the attention of the inhabitants. It is situated four miles south of the extensive lead-mines of La Motte, and in the centre of a highly interesting geological and mineralogical section of country. The rocks at that place are the old red granite and sienite, in mountain masses, with veins of greenstone, greenstone porphyry, and gneiss.

c. _Red Oxide of Iron._ Flint river, Tennessee.

d. _Brown Haematite._ On the dividing ridge between Strawberry and Spring rivers, Arkansas.

e. _Argillaceous Oxide of Iron--Ironstone._ Banks of the Monongahela, Pennsylvania.

f. _Sulphuret of Iron._ Accompanying the ores and vein-stones of the Missouri lead-mines.

g. _Magnetic Oxide of Iron._ Fifteen miles below the Hot Springs, on the Washita river, Arkansas. In quantity.

45. BLACK OXIDE OF MANGANESE. On Big Sandy river, Kentucky. Also, on the sources of the Maramec and Spring rivers, Missouri, accompanied by the brown oxide of iron.

46. NATIVE COPPER. Scattered masses of this metal have been found on Big river, and also in a shaft sunk near Harrisonville, Illinois. Nothing, however, is known in America, to equal the vast quantities of this metal found in the trap veins on the banks of lake Superior.

47. SULPHATE OF COPPER. On the Washita river, fifteen miles below the Hot Springs, Arkansas.

FOOTNOTES:

[18] Long's Expedition.

[19] From "opwaguu," (Algonquin) a pipe; and "lithos," (Gr.) a stone.

CATALOGUE OF MINERALS AND GEOLOGICAL SPECIMENS, (CONTINUED.)

OCTOBER, 1819.

1. Sulphate of lime. Arkansas.

2. Sulphuret of lead, in quartz. Washington county, Mo.

3. Agate, from Persia. Brought by Captain Austin.

4. Serpentine. Derby, Conn.

5. Galena upon crystallized quartz. Missouri.

6. Limpid quartz. Hot Springs, Arkansas.

7. Striped agate. St. Genevieve county, Mo.

8. Sienite. Persia.

9. Silicious breccia. Illinois.

10. Sulphuret of lead. Shangum Mountain, Ulster county, N. Y.

11. Garnet, in micaceous schistus. Watertown, Litchfield county, Conn.

12. Galena, iron pyrites, &c., in quartz. Northampton, Mass.

13. Serpentine. Derby, Conn.

14. Red granite. River St. Francis, Madison county, Missouri Territory.

15. Red oxide of zinc. Sussex county, N. J.

16. Metalliferous limestone. Missouri.

17. Agate. Strawberry river, Arkansas Territory.

18. Dolomite. Stockbridge, Mass.

19. Lamellar galena. Bryan's mines, St. Genevieve county, Mo.

20. Shell-limestone. Bermuda.

21. Arseniate of cobalt, with nickel, in actynolite. Chatham, Conn.

22. Galena in quartz. Shangum Mountain, N. Y.

23. Regulus of antimony.

24. Granular argillaceous oxide of iron (pea ore). Staten Island, N. Y.

25. Olivine. Europe.

26. Indicolite in lamellar feldspar. Chesterfield, Mass.

27. Brucite, (Gibbs,) silicious fluate of magnesia, in transition
carbonate of lime, with graphite. Sussex county, N. J.

28. Sulphate of lime. Nova Scotia.

29. Serpentine. Hoboken, N. J.

30. Sulphuret of antimony, with crystals of carbonate of lime.
Cornwall, England.

31. Chalcedony. Easthaven, Conn.

32. Arseniate of iron, in quartz. Connecticut.

33. Arseniate of cobalt, with iron pyrites and copper. Ireland.

34. Indurated talc. Hoboken, N. J.

35. Primitive granular limestone. Kingsbridge, N. Y.

36. Galena in quartz. Wales.

37. Carbonate and sulphuret of copper, with calcareous spar, in
sandstone. Schuyler's mines, Bergen county, N. J.

38. Iron pyrites (cubical). Haddam, Conn.

39. Ferruginous oxide of manganese. Greenwich street, New York city.

40. Green feldspar. Hoboken, N. J.

41. Chert. Wales.

42. Brown haematite. Salisbury, Conn.

43. Indicolite, in lamellar feldspar. Chesterfield, Mass.

44. Tremolite. Litchfield county, Conn.

45. Sappare (Cyanite of Cleveland). Litchfield county, Conn.

46. Chabasie. Deerfield, Mass.

47. Anthracite, with quartz. Rhode Island.

48. Fluate of lime. Derbyshire, Eng.

49. Asbestos. Milford, Conn.

50. Zeolite. Giants' Causeway, county of Antrim, Ireland.

51. Hydrate of magnesia. Hoboken, N. J.

52. Serpentine (verte antique). Milford, Conn.

53. Serpentine (pure). Milford, Conn.

54. Primitive granular limestone, equalling Carrara marble.
Stockbridge, Mass.

55. Precious serpentine. Hoboken, N. J.

56. Beryl, in granitic rock. Haddam, Conn.

57. Sediment in the Hot Springs of Washita, Arkansas Territory.

58. Asbestos. Milford, Conn.

59. Talc. Staten Island, Richmond county, N. Y.

60. Graphic granite. Staten Island, Richmond county, N. Y.

61. Amethystine quartz. Easthaven, Conn.

62. Prehinite. Hartford, Conn.

63. Jasper. Egypt.

64. Granite. Greenfield Hill, Conn.

65. Fibrous carbonate of lime, resembling zeolite. Hoboken, N. J.

66. Chalcedony. Easthaven, Conn.

67. Tremolite. Litchfield, Conn.

68. Sulphuret of antimony. Cornwall, Eng.

69. Sulphuret of antimony, Cornwall, Eng.

70. Agate. Corlaer's Hook, Island of New York.

71. Sulphuret of molybdena, in granite. Bergen, N. J.

72. Cellular mass of sandstone and quartz, with crystals of quartz.
Schuyler's mines, N. J.

73. Crystallized carbonate of lime, with carb'te of copper. Same mines.

74. Micaceous oxide of iron. River St. Francis, Madison county, Mo.

75. Petrified wood. Locality unknown.

76. Sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), with carbonate of copper, in a
ferruginous sandstone. Schuyler's mines, N. J.

77. Carbonate of copper. Schuyler's mines, N. J.

78. Agate. South bank of White river, Arkansas Territory.

79. Sulphuret of lead, carbonate of copper, and yellow oxide of iron.
Schuyler's mines, N. J.

80, 81, 82, and 83. Calcareous spar. Lead-mines, Missouri.

84 and 85. Sulphuret of lead, in sulphate of barytes. Lead-mines,
Missouri.

86. Argentiferous lead-glance. Mine La Motte, Missouri.

87. Specular oxide of iron, with quartz. Bellevieu, Washington county,
Missouri.

88. Sulphuret of zinc. Lead-mines, Missouri.

89. Yellow mamillary quartz, incrusted with sulphate of barytes and
haematitic iron. Old Mines, Missouri.

90. Lamellar sulphate of barytes. Lead-mines of Missouri.

91. Brown haematite. Staten Island, N. Y.

92. Greenstone porphyry. River St. Francis, Madison county, Mo.

93. Cubical lead-glance, with calcareous spar. Bryan's mines, Mo.

94. Crested sulphate of barytes. Lead-mines, Missouri.

95. Pyramidal sulphate of barytes (prism spar). Lead-mines, Missouri.

96. Lamellar sulphate of barytes, with galena. Lead-mines, Missouri.

97. Lamellar with crystals of calcareous spar. Lead-mines, Missouri.

98. Blende, with iron pyrites. Elliott's mines, Missouri.

99. Flint. Locality unknown.

100. Granular sulphuret of lead. Mine La Motte, Missouri.

101. Pumice of the Missouri river.

102. Pseudo-volcanic product of same.

103. Ferruginous sulphate of barytes, on radiated quartz. Lead-mines
of Missouri.

104. Crested brown oxide of iron. Jefferson county, Mo.

105. Radiated quartz, incrusted with sulphate of barytes and iron.
Potosi, Mo.

106. Granular lead-ore (a sulphuret). Mine La Motte, Mo.

107. Brown oxide of iron, crystallized in octahedrons. Washington
county, Mo.

108. Mamillary quartz, on a basis of agate. River St. Francis, Mo.

109. Radiated quartz. Lead-mines of Missouri.

110. Radiated quartz. Lead-mines of Missouri.

111, 112, 113, 114, and 115. Mamillary quartz. Lead-mines of Missouri.

116. Chalky clay. Cape Girardeau, Mo.

117. Cubical pyrites, with calcareous spar. Mineral Fork, Mo.

118. Radiated quartz, incrusted with crystallized oxide of iron.
Jefferson county, Mo.

119. Tabular galena. Bryan's mines, Mo.

120. Radiated quartz. Jefferson county, Mo.

121. Radiated quartz. Potosi.

122. Hoary quartz (a variety unnoticed in the books). Potosi.

123. Galena, in heavy spar. Potosi.

124. Galena, on radiated quartz. Potosi.

125. Carbonate of lime, covered by crystals of quartz. Potosi.

126. Metalliferous limestone. Potosi.

127. Metalliferous limestone. Potosi.

128. Granite. Missouri.

129. Radiated limpid quartz. Lead-mines of Missouri.

130 and 131. Sulphuret of lead. Potosi.

132. Galena, with calcareous spar. Bryan's mines, Mo.

133 and 134. Galena, partially desulphurated by beat. Potosi.

135. Chalcedony. St. Genevieve county, Mo.

136. Madreporite. Gallatin county, Illinois.

137. Primitive granular limestone. Carrara, Italy.

138. Egyptian marble.

139. Argillaceous porphyry. France.

140 and 141. Milford marble.

142 and 143. Philadelphia marble.

144. Egyptian marble.

145. Bituminous shale.

146. Cubical iron-ore. Jefferson county, Mo.

147. Regulus of nickel and cobalt.

148. Tourmaline. Greensburgh, Westchester county, N. Y.

149. Graphic granite. Corlaer's Hook, N. Y.

150. Fibrous gypsum. Nova Scotia.

151. Trap. Corlaer's Hook, N. Y.

152. Tremolite, in carbonate of lime. Somerstown, Westchester county,
New York.

153. Asbestos in steatite, on carbonate of lime. New York.

154. Asbestos in steatite, on carbonate of lime. New York.

155. Lamellar pyrites. Sussex county, N. J.

156. Graphite pyrites. Sussex county, N. J.

157. Pyrites, in hornblende. Sussex county, N. J.

158. Brass yellow pyrites. Sussex county, N. J.

159. Jaspery agate. Corlaer's Hook, N. Y.

160. Pyrites, with specular oxide of iron. Sussex county, N. J.

161. Sulphate of barytes. Schooley's Mountain, N. J.

162. Sulphate of barytes. Washington county, Mo.

163. Bitter spar. Hoboken, N. J.

164. Arseniate of cobalt. Chatham, Conn.

165. Sulphate of lime. Nova Scotia.

166. Granular quartz. St. Genevieve county, Mo.

167. Sulphate of lime. Nova Scotia.

168. Common striped jasper. Corlaer's Hook, N. Y.

169. Sulphate of lime. Nova Scotia.

170. Compact limestone. Herculaneum, Mo.

171. Limestone. St. Louis, Mo.

172. Fibrous quartz. Schuyler's mines, N. J.

173. Quartz. Dutchess county, &c., N. Y.

174. Sulphuret of zinc, in crystallized quartz. Ulster county, N. Y.

175. Brown haematite. Salisbury, Conn.

176. Greenstone porphyry. Madison county, Mo.

177. Galena. Missouri.

SHELLS.

1. Murex[*] canaliculatus, with Voluta mercatoria[*] included.

2. Murex[*] canaliculatus, with Voluta oliva[*] included.

3. Murex[*] canaliculatus, with serpulae attached and included.

4. Murex[*] carica, with two pairs Mya[*] arenaria.

5. Helix[*] ampullacea, with two small madrepores.[*]

6. Helix[*] ampullacea, with seven Cypraea[*] monita--African money.

7. Venus[*] mercenaria, with four small ones; a variety of species
included.

8. Venus[*] mercenaria, two valves, intermediate between the last
named.

9. Cardium[*] leucostomum.

10. Cardium[*] edule.

11. Buccinum[*] perdix, three shells.

12. Murex[*] peritoideus, two shells.

13. Venus[*] maculata.

14. Patella[*] fornicata, six shells.

15. Buccinum[*] testiculus, two shells.

16. Venus[*] Paphia, two valves.

17. Larva[*] of strombus gigas, six shells.

18. Buccinum[+] glabratum (Ebuma of Lamarck).

19 and 20. Cypraea[+] lirabica.

21. C. sordida,[*] Linn. C. carneola, Lam.

22. C. caput[*] serpentis. Viper's head; cowry.

23. C. exanthema.[*] (False argus.)

24. Buccinum[*] patulum.

25. Voluta prunum.[*]

26. Cypraea[*] lota, two shells.

27. Voluta guttrata.[+]

28. Bulla[*] gibbosa, seven shells.

29. Ostrea[*] edulis.

30. Peetsen.[*]

31. Venus[*] tigerina.

32. Tellina[*] radiata.

33. Dentralium.[*]

34. Nerita[*] mammilla.

35. Bulla[*] ampulla.

36. Voluta oryzy.[*] (Rice shells.)

37. Voluta[*] nivea.

38. Arca[*] glycymeris.

39. Cerea[*] noe.

40. Mytilus[*] modiolus.

[* Occidental shells.]

[+ Oriental shells.]

MINERAL RESOURCES OF THE WEST.

A LETTER TO CHARLES G. HAINES, ESQ., SECRETARY OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR THE PROMOTION OF INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS AT NEW YORK.

NEW YORK, October 5th, 1819.

SIR: In reply to your communication of the 4th inst., I submit the subjoined remarks on the following questions:--

I. "To what extent are the lead, and other mines, worked in our western country, either by the United States' government, or by individuals?"

In the extensive region to which this inquiry has allusion, are found numerous ores, salts, ochres, and other minerals; and the catalogue is daily increasing, by the discovery of new substances, which promise to become important to the commerce of the western country; but the only mines worked are those of lead, iron, and coal.

The lead-mines are situated in Missouri Territory, (formerly Upper Louisiana,) and extend on the western bank of the Mississippi for a distance of about one hundred miles, by forty in width, comprising the present counties of Washington, St. Genevieve, Jefferson, and Madison. The first lead-ore was discovered by De Lochon, La Motte, and others, acting under the authority of the Company of the West, as early as 1720. Since which period, the number of mines has been annually increasing by new discoveries, under the jurisdiction which has been successively exercised over that country by France, Spain, and the United States. The number of mines now worked is forty-five; thirty-nine of which are in Washington county, three in St. Genevieve, one in Madison, and two in Jefferson. The quantity of lead annually smelted from the crude ore, I have estimated at three million pounds; and the number of hands to whom it furnishes employment, at eleven hundred. A considerable proportion of these are, however, farmers, who only turn their attention to mining a part of the year, when their farms do not require their labor; the residue are professed smelters and miners, including blacksmiths and others, whose services are constantly required. The price of lead at the mines is now four dollars per cwt. It is worth four dollars and fifty cents on the banks of the Mississippi, at St. Genevieve and Herculaneum, and is quoted at seven dollars in Philadelphia. The ore exclusively worked is the common galena, or sulphuret of lead, with a broad glittering grain. It is found in detached pieces and beds in red clay, and in veins in limestone rock, accompanied by sulphate of barytes, calcareous spar, blende, quartz, and pyrites. It melts easily, yielding, in the large way, from sixty to seventy-five per cent. of pure metal. By chemical analysis I procured eighty-two per cent. of metallic lead from a specimen of common ore at Mine a Burton. The residue is chiefly sulphur, with a little carbonate of lime and silex. It contains no silver, or at least none which can be detected by the usual tests.

All the lead smelted at these mines is transported in carts and wagons to the banks of the Mississippi, and deposited for shipment at Herculaneum or St. Genevieve. The different mines are situated at various distances, from thirty to forty-five miles in the interior, and the cost of transportation may be averaged at seventy-five cents per cwt. In summer, when the roads are in good order, it may be procured at fifty cents; but in the spring and fall, when the roads are cut up, it will cost one dollar. The transportation from Herculaneum and St. Genevieve to New Orleans, may now be procured at seventy cents per cwt. This is less than the sum paid, previous to the introduction of steamboats on the Mississippi and its tributary streams. Hence, it costs more to convey a hundredweight of lead forty miles by land, in wagons and carts, than to transport the same one thousand miles (the distance from Herculaneum to New Orleans) by steamboats. An improvement of the streams of the mine country, so as to render them navigable at all seasons for keel-boats and barges, is therefore a subject of the first moment. The Maramec river, a stream of one hundred and eighty miles in length, and a hundred yards wide at its mouth, which enters the Mississippi eighteen miles below St. Louis, draws its waters from the mining counties of Washington, Jefferson, St. Genevieve, and the unincorporated wilderness on the south-east, and the fertile counties of Franklin and St. Louis on the north-west; and its south-eastern tributaries meander throughout the mine tract. The principal of these are Grand river and Mineral Fork, which are navigable in spring and fall for keel-boats of a small size, and might, I believe, be rendered so throughout the year, at an inconsiderable expense.

The lead-mines are exclusively worked by individuals, either under the authority of leases obtained from the United States for a limited time; on lands which were granted by the French or Spanish, and the titles to which have been subsequently confirmed by the United States; on unconfirmed lands; or in violation of existing laws.

There are few sections of the valley of the Mississippi which are not characterized by iron and coal. Iron-ore is abundant on the Ohio and its tributaries, particularly on the Alleghany, Monongahela, and Muskingum. It is worked at several foundries in the counties of Fayette, Armstrong, and Alleghany, in Pennsylvania. The most noted furnaces are at Brownsville, from which the extensive foundries at Pittsburgh are chiefly supplied with pig-iron. It is also worked at Zanesville, on the Muskingum, and on Brush creek, in Ohio; and a foundry at Cincinnati, and another at Louisville, in Kentucky, are supplied with pig-iron from the latter place. The ore is chiefly of that kind called the argillaceous oxide, and produces iron which is well adapted for steam-engine machinery, and for hollow-ware.

Stone-coal, of an excellent quality, is abundant at Pittsburgh, where it is largely consumed in iron-foundries, glass-furnaces, and other manufactories, and also in private dwellings. The most extensive pits or galleries are situated immediately opposite the city, on Coal Hill, where it has been pursued into the hill eight or nine hundred yards. It is found breaking out on the banks of the Alleghany at several places, at and near Kittaning, where beds of it have been opened; and I have even observed traces of it in the vicinity of Olean, near the head of Genesee river, in the State of New York. On the Monongahela it extends by Williamsport, Brownsville, and Greensburgh, to the vicinity of Morgantown, in Virginia; and such is the abundance of this mineral, and the uniformity and regularity which the geological structure of this part of the country presents, that there is no considerable section of it, within a circle of two hundred miles in diameter around Pittsburgh, which does not afford beds of good inflammable coal. Pursuing the Ohio down from Pittsburgh, it is successively worked at Wellsburg, Wheeling, Gallipolis, and Maysville. In Illinois, on Great Muddy river, and at Alton; in Missouri, at Florissant, and on Osage river; and in Arkansas, on the Washita river; this valuable mineral has also been found.

II. "What mines have been discovered?"

V. "Where are the most valuable mines to be found in the western country?"

The reply to these inquiries has been, in part, anticipated by the preceding details. Lead and other mines are, however, found in several other sections of the western country. An extensive body of lead-ore is found near Prairie du Chien, on the west bank of the Mississippi, about five hundred miles above St. Louis. The ore is in the state of a sulphuret, is easily reduced, and yields about sixty-two and a half per cent. of metal. These mines are worked in an imperfect manner by the savages, the Sacs and Foxes, the original owners of the soil; and considerable quantities are annually brought down to St. Louis by the north-west traders. Lead-ore is also found on the river Desmoines of the Mississippi, where it was formerly worked by the French--on the Osage, Gasconade, and Mine river of the Missouri; on the White river and its tributaries; on the St. Francis; and on the Arkansas, where it is combined with a small proportion of silver. It is also found at Cave-in-Rock, Gallatin county, Illinois, accompanied by fluor spar; at Drennon's Lick and Millersburgh, in Kentucky; and on New river, at Austinville, in Wythe county, Virginia. At the latter place, it has been worked without interruption for nearly fifty years; and the mines still continue to be wrought. The ore is galena, accompanied by the carbonate of lead, and the earthy oxide of lead; the latter of which is worked in the large way, as is said, to a profit.

Zinc is found in Washington county, Missouri, in considerable quantities; but only in the state of a sulphuret.

Copper has been found in small masses, in a metallic state, on Great Muddy river, and at Harrisonville, Monroe county, Illinois. A grant of land made to P. F. Renault, in 1723, at Old Peoria, on the Illinois river, specifies the existence of a copper-mine upon it; but the most remarkable bodies of copper which the globe affords, are stated to exist on the western shores of Lake Superior, and on the Upper Mississippi. It is found in the metallic state, but accompanied also, as is said, by the sulphuret and carbonate of copper. The ores stretch over a very extensive region, and have been traced as low as the falls of St. Anthony. There is, indeed, reason to believe that copper is disseminated from the west bank of Great Muddy river, in Illinois, in a north-west direction, to the western shore of lake Superior, as all the streams, so far as observed, which flow either north or south at right angles with such a line, afford traces of copper. Thus, the Kaskaskia, the Illinois and its tributaries, the St. Peter, Wisconsin, and the southern forks of the Wabash and Miami, all furnish specimens of copper, as well as lead, zinc, and iron. An attempt was made by President Adams to explore the copper-mines of the north-west; but I know not what success attended the undertaking. Considering the certainty with which all travellers, since the days of Carver, have spoken of the existence of these mines, with the daily concurrent testimony of traders from that quarter, and their great importance in a national point of view, it is matter of surprise that they have been so long neglected. Is not the present an auspicious time for authorizing a mission into that quarter, for the purpose of exploring its physical geography?

Iron is a mineral common to all parts of the western country. One of its most remarkable localities is the head of the river St. Francis, in Missouri Territory, where it extends through a considerable part of Madison and Washington counties. The most noted body is called the Iron Mountain, and is situated about forty miles west of the Mississippi, in Bellevieu, Washington county. The ore is here found in immense masses, and forms the southern extremity of a lofty ridge of hills, which consists chiefly of red granite, but terminates, in a rich alluvial plain, in a mass of solid ore. It is chiefly the micaceous oxide, accompanied by the red oxide, and by iron-glance. It melts very easily, producing a soft, malleable iron.

Coal is not less common, and may be considered among those extensive mineral formations which stretch, in so remarkable a manner, throughout the vast basin included between the Alleghany and Rocky mountains. Salt and gypsum may also be referred to the same great geological formations, as they are to be traced, accompanying each other, from the western section of New York, to the southern banks of the Arkansas, where immense quantities of salt and gypsum exist. Clay, flint, ochre of various kinds, saltpetre, alum, reddle, soapstone, plumbago, oil-stone, marble, serpentine, &c., may be enumerated among the useful minerals of less importance, which characterize that region.

III. "To what extent and advantage do you think the mines might be worked, under proper management and superintendence?"

IV. "Are the laws of Congress, which have been passed in relation to our lead-mines, salutary in their operation?"

I have stated the amount of lead annually produced by the Missouri mines at three millions of pounds, which, on reflection, I think is sufficiently high. But there are numerous difficulties opposed to the successful progress of mining in that country, by the removal of which, the amount would be greatly augmented. Some of these difficulties arise from the peculiar nature of the business, from a want of skill, or of mining capital in those by whom mining operations are conducted; but by far the greatest obstacle results from the want of a systematic organization of the mining interest by the United States, or from defects in existing laws on the subject.

Immediately after the occupation of Louisiana by the United States, inquiry was made into the situation and extent of the mines; and a law was passed, reserving all mines discovered on the public lands, and authorizing the territorial executive for the time being to lease out such mines for a period of three years. A radical defect in this law appears always to have been, that there was not, at the same time, authorized the appointment of a specific agent for the general management and superintendence of mines. Such an officer has long been called for, not less by the public interest, than by the intelligent inhabitants of the western country, who feel how nearly a proper development of its mineral wealth is connected with their individual prosperity and national independence. The superintendent should reside in the mine country, and such a salary should be attached to the office as to induce a man of science to accept it. His duty should be to report annually to Congress the state of the mines, their produce, new discoveries, and proposed alterations in existing laws. He should lease out and receive rents for the public mines--prevent the destruction of timber on mineral lands, and the working of mines without authority, and should be charged with the investigation of the physical and geographical mineralogy of the country. At present, the most flagrant violations of the laws are practised--mines are worked without leases--wood is destroyed on lands which are only valuable for the wood and the lead-ore they contain; and the government derives but a small revenue from those celebrated mines, which, whether we consider their vast extent, the richness of the ore, or the quantity of metal they are capable of annually producing, are unparalleled by any other mineral district in the world.

There is another feature in the existing law, which is not beneficial in its operation. It is that clause restricting the terms of leases to three years. To embark in mining operations with profit, it is necessary to sink shafts and galleries, build engines, and erect other necessary works, which are, in some degree, permanent in their nature, and require much time and expense in their completion. A considerable part of the period must, therefore, elapse before the mine can be put in a state for working; and no sooner is that done, and it begins to afford a profit, and promises a reward for the expense incurred, than the expiration of the lease throws all these works into the hands of some new adventurer, or more successful applicant. This prevents many from engaging in mining on the public lands, and especially those who would be best able to prosecute the business; and of the number who take leases, a great proportion continue to pursue the desultory method of mining in alluvial[20] ground, introduced at an early period by the French, but which is attended with very great uncertainty.

Improvements remain also to be introduced in regard to the processes of mining, the furnaces employed, and the method of raising the ore. Inseparable from this subject is the distribution of more enlarged practical and scientific views of mining and minerals generally, which might, in a great degree, be effected by the dissemination of practical treatises on the subject, or by the employment of experienced and skilful miners from Europe.

When such improvements shall be effected, with others to which it is not necessary here to advert--when miners are properly secured in the object of their pursuit, either by permanent purchases from government, or by leases for a long period of years--and when the facilities for transportation which that country is destined to afford, by the improved navigation of its streams, and by the introduction of turnpikes, roads, and bridges, are introduced, there is reason to conclude that the annual amount of lead produced will far surpass the proceeds of those mines under the present arrangement, and, indeed, it is impossible to calculate the extent to which it may be carried. It is, perhaps, a moderate estimate to say, that they are capable of being made to yield, by judicious management, six millions of pounds of lead per annum, and that they will furnish employment to three thousand hands.

During my late tour throughout the western country, including nearly a year's residence in the interior of Missouri, I devoted much time to this interesting subject, and have been enabled to collect a body of facts on the physical resources and character of that country, and particularly of its mines and minerals, which it is my design to lay before the public. I must, therefore, refer you to this work, which is now in press, for further details on this subject, and, in the mean time, I beg your indulgent perusal of this hasty outline.

With respect, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT.

FOOTNOTE:

[20] This word is used in its common acceptation in 1819.

GEOGRAPHY.

MISSOURI.

When Louisiana was admitted into the Union as an independent State, all that part of the territory situated north of 33 deg. north latitude, and formerly known as Upper Louisiana, was erected into a separate territorial government, under the name of Missouri. This term is the name of a tribe of Indians who formerly dwelt near the Missouri river. The Territory also included those boundless plains and unexplored countries stretching from north to south, at the foot of the Rocky mountains, and which pass into the province of Texas on the south, and are bounded by the western line of Louisiana on the east. In the month of March of the present year, the southern part of Missouri Territory, including the unincorporated regions on the west and south-west, was erected into a separate Territory, under the name of Arkansas. The regions to the north-west may be considered as an unincorporated wilderness, where the authority of the United States, so far as the Indian title has been extinguished, is maintained in detached posts and garrisons, under the immediate government of military commandants. The bounds of Missouri, as designated in the late law respecting that country, are as follows: beginning on the Mississippi river, in latitude 36 deg. north, and running due west on the latitude line to the river St. Francis, thence up that river to 36 deg. 30' north latitude, thence west to a point due south of the mouth of the river Kanzas, thence north to a point opposite the mouth of the river Desmoines, thence east to the Mississippi river, and down the middle of that river to the place of beginning.

It embraces some of the most prominent geographical features of the western country, and, from the meeting of such mighty streams on its confines, and its relation to all the country situated north and west of it, must become the key to all the commerce of those regions, and is destined to have a commanding influence on the surrounding States, and on the political character and mutations of that country. It is bounded by the States of Illinois and Kentucky, from which it is separated by the Mississippi river on the east and north-east, and by the Territory of Arkansas on the south.

The country west of the Mississippi differs, in some respects, from any other section of the western country, and affords a variety in its physical aspect which is nowhere else to be met with. A great proportion of the lands in this Territory are of the richest kind, producing corn, wheat, rye, oats, flax, hemp, and tobacco, in great abundance, and in great perfection. The lands bordering on the Missouri river, as far as the Territory extends, are rich beyond comparison. They consist of black alluvial soil, of unknown depth, and partaking largely of the properties of marl; and the heavy growth of forest trees by which it is covered, indicates the strength of the soil. As you recede from the banks of the rivers, the land rises, passing, sometimes by almost imperceptible gradations, and sometimes very abruptly, into elevated barrens, flinty ridges, and rocky cliffs. A portion of the Territory is, therefore, unfit for cultivation, but still serves as the matrix of numerous ores, which are distributed abundantly in the hills and mountains of the interior. There is very little land of an intermediate quality. It is either very rich or very poor; it is either bottom-land or cliff, prairie or barren; it is a deep black marl, or a high bluff rock; and the transition is often so sudden, as to produce scenes of the most picturesque beauty. Hence, the traveller in the interior is often surprised to behold, at one view, cliffs and prairies, bottoms and barrens, naked hills, heavy forests, rocks, streams, and plains, all succeeding each other with rapidity, and mingled with the most pleasing harmony. I have contemplated such scenes, while standing on some lofty bluff in the wilderness of Missouri, with unmixed delight; while the deer, the elk, and the buffalo, were grazing quietly on the plains below.

Situated between the 36th and 40th degrees of north latitude, the Territory enjoys a climate of remarkable serenity, and temperate warmth. That clear blue sky, so much admired by the aborigines, is characteristic of the country; and an atmosphere of unusual dryness, exempts the inhabitants from those pulmonary complaints which are more or less the consequence of a humid atmosphere. A country so situated cannot fail to prove genial to the vegetable kingdom. It would be difficult to point out a section of country which affords a more interesting field for the botanist. Its prairies and barrens are covered with a profusion of wild flowers, shrubs, and plants; and its cultivated fields yield to the hands of the planter, a great proportion of the useful vegetables of the earth. Corn succeeds remarkably; no country surpasses the banks of the Missouri for the vigor of its crops. Wheat, rye, oats, flax, and hemp, are also raised with advantage. Tobacco is an article recently introduced, but is found to succeed well, and the lands are said to be well adapted to its growth. Cotton is raised in the southern part of the Territory for family use, but is not an advantageous crop for market. The climate and soil are also adapted to the growth of the sweet or Carolina potato, and to fruit-trees of various kinds. The peach and the apple are most generally cultivated. Of wild fruits, the woods afford abundance; among which, the grape, persimmon, papaw, pecan, and filbert, are conspicuous. Some varieties of the grape are delicious, and they are very common at the mines, where the inhabitants prepare a wine from them, which has a pleasant flavor.

The population of the Territory, exclusive of the aborigines, has been stated at 46,000, the greatest proportion of whom have emigrated into it within the last five years. They consist of people from various parts of the United States and Europe. A large number are from Tennessee, Kentucky, New York, and New England. The original inhabitants were French and Spanish. There are few of the latter remaining; but the former constitute a respectable proportion of the population.

The principal towns of Missouri are St. Louis, St. Genevieve, St. Charles, and Franklin. Of a lesser size, are Herculaneum, Potosi, New Madrid, Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Chariton, Florissant, and Carondelet. St. Louis is the capital of the Territory, and by far the largest town west of Cincinnati, Ohio. It consists of about 550 houses and 5000 inhabitants, and has two banks, three houses for public worship, a post-office, theatre, land-office, and museum, including forty stores, with several mills, manufactories, &c. It is eligibly situated on the western bank of the Mississippi river, eighteen miles below the junction of the Missouri, and, from its commanding situation, is destined to become the emporium of the western country.

Franklin, at Boon's Lick, on the Missouri, has 150 houses, is the thoroughfare for emigrants to that quarter, and is surrounded by one of the richest bodies of land west of the Alleghany mountains, to which emigration is flowing with unexampled rapidity.

St. Charles, situated twenty-one miles above St. Louis, on the Missouri, is also a handsome and flourishing town. The same may be said of Chariton, one hundred and eighty miles above, at the mouth of Chariton river.

No country in the world affords such an extent of inland navigation by its streams, as the basin lying between the Alleghany and Rocky mountains, whose congregated waters are carried to the ocean by those stupendous natural canals, the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Illinois. The Mississippi river itself, in whose current all these majestic streams unite, and are discharged into the Mexican gulf, washes the eastern boundaries of the Territory, from the mouth of the river Desmoines to that of the St. Francis, a distance of more than five hundred miles. The Missouri, swelled by its great tributaries, the Yellowstone, Little Missouri, Whitestone, La Platte, Kanzas, and Osage, passes diagonally nearly through its centre, affording on both sides a widely-extended tract of soil transcendently rich, and bearing a luxuriant growth of forest trees and plants, interspersed with prairie. It is navigable, without interruption, from its junction with the Mississippi to its falls, a distance of two thousand miles.

The Ohio is a thousand miles in length from its head, at Pittsburgh, to its junction with the Mississippi, and, in its passage, successively washes the shores of Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois--shores which are covered with villages, towns, and settlements, and lined with an industrious and hardy population.

The Illinois is also a stream affording a great length of navigation, and lands of superior quality, and has a natural connection with the great north-western lakes, into which boats may, at certain seasons, uninterruptedly pass.

These rivers, communicating with all parts of the country by their tributaries, afford the advantages of commercial exchange, trade, and manufactures, to a greater extent, and a richer description of country, than is anywhere to be found in Europe, Asia, or Africa.

Of these advantages, the Territory of Missouri, occupying so commanding a position in the geography of the country, must always partake largely, and may, from the wealth already concentrated in its capital, St. Louis, enjoy almost exclusively the trade of the Missouri and upper Mississippi.

The streams which originate within the lines described by the political boundaries of the Territory, and which, either during their whole course, or for a considerable distance, meander through it, are the Osage, the Gasconade, Maramec, Salt river, St. Francis, and Black river. Of a lesser magnitude are Mine river, Chariton, Currents, Fourche a Thomas, Eleven-points, and Spring rivers; the four latter running southerly into the Arkansas Territory, and discharging their waters into Black river, which is itself a tributary of White river.

The Osage originates in a prairie country, near the ninety-sixth degree of west longitude, about one hundred miles north of the Arkansas, and, after meandering in an east and north-east direction for a distance of five hundred miles, unites with the Missouri one hundred and thirty miles above St. Louis. In its course it is swelled by several tributaries, the principal of which is the Little Osage, its great south-eastern fork. This river affords, in its whole length, large bodies of the choicest prairie-land, interspersed with woodland, and occasionally with hills, and is navigable for moderate sized boats. Its banks afford exhaustless beds of stone-coal, and some iron and lead is found, while its upper forks reach into the country of the Pawnees--a country rich in salt. The Osage Indians inhabit its banks; but a part of their lands have been purchased by the United States. It is a very beautiful stream, and situated in a delightful climate; and when its borders are opened for emigration, and its resources properly drawn forth, will support a large population, and a profitable trade. Its fertile soil and genial climate entitle it to the rank of one of the first tributaries of the Missouri.

In estimating the length of western rivers, there is one circumstance which is not properly estimated by an eastern reader. It is their serpentine course, which is so remarkable, that, in running one hundred miles on a geographical line, they will, by their great windings, measure at least double that distance; so that a river stated to be one thousand miles in length by its banks, cannot be calculated to traverse a country of more than five hundred miles in extent; indeed, I believe that a fair average of distances would show the geographical distance to be less.

The Gasconade enters the Missouri one hundred miles above St. Louis. Its length is about two hundred miles, and it is navigable for half that distance. It is made up of several streams running from a ridge of high lands, separating the waters which fall on the north into the Missouri, from those which flow on the south into the Mississippi. Its banks afford but a small proportion of tillable lands, being bordered with rocks and sterile hills. The rocks are, however, cavernous, and afford saltpetre; and the hills are covered by pine timber, which is sawed into boards and plank. In these two articles, the commerce of this river will always principally consist. The current is rapid, and affords by its fall many mill-seats, so that boats and rafts may descend with ease; but its ascent is attended with great labor. On this stream are already situated several saw-mills.

The Maramec also originates in high lands, two hundred and fifty miles south-west of its mouth, and is separated from the waters of the Gasconade only by a dividing ridge of land. It is swelled in its course by a great number of streams, the most noted of which are the Little Maramec, Bourbuse, Fourche a Courtois, Big river, and Mineral Fork. It forms a junction with the Mississippi eighteen miles below St. Louis, where it is two hundred yards wide. It is only navigable about fifty miles, except in high floods in the spring and fall, when most of its tributaries may be ascended with boats. This stream waters the country of the mines, and interlocks, by its affluents, with the Gasconade on the west, and the St. Francis on the south. The mines of Missouri are situated on its southern shores.

Salt river enters the Mississippi one hundred and three miles above St. Louis, and seventy-three miles above the mouth of the Illinois. The settlements on its banks are rapidly progressing, and the lands are noted for their fertility.

The St. Francis originates, with Big river, in broken lands in the southern part of Washington and St. Genevieve counties, and joins the Mississippi five hundred miles below. The most noted bodies of iron-ore in the western country lie on its head, at Bellevieu. The La Motte lead-mines also lie along the banks of one of its tributaries. It affords, in its course, a proportion of excellent land, mixed with some that is rocky, and bordered near its mouth with much that is swampy, low, and overflown. A raft of trees, about two hundred and fifty miles above its mouth, obstructs the navigation, which would otherwise be good to within fourteen miles of St. Michael, the seat of justice for Madison county.

Black river has its origin near the heads of the Gasconade and the Maramec, and is swelled in its course by the river Currents, Fourche a Thomas, Eleven-points, Spring and Strawberry rivers, and forms a junction with White river about forty miles below Poke Bayou, where the road to Arkansas and Red river crosses it. The banks of Black river, and of all its tributaries, afford rich alluvial land of more or less extent; but the intervening ridges are rocky and sterile.

Although there is much high land in this Territory, there is perhaps none which, strictly speaking, is entitled to the appellation of a mountain. A ridge of high land, called the Ozark chain, commencing on the banks of the Maramec, near the Fourche a Courtois, extends in a south-west direction to the banks of White river, in Arkansas Territory, a distance of about four hundred miles, and occasionally rises into peaks of mountain height. This ridge serves to divide the waters of the Missouri from those of the Mississippi; the streams on one side running south into the latter, and those on the other running north into the former. The body of red granite found on the head of the St. Francis, lies in mountain masses, and forms, in connection with the accompanying rocks, some of the most rude and terrific scenery, full of interest in a mineralogical, as well as a geological point of view.

In the preceding view of the lead-mines of Missouri, and in the catalogue of minerals subsequently introduced, I have already anticipated much that might with propriety be given here; it may therefore be sufficient to give a brief synopsis of both.

The lead-mines in this Territory are situated about forty miles west of the Mississippi, and sixty miles south-west of St. Louis. They occupy a district of country between the waters of the St. Francis and the Maramec, one hundred miles in length, by about forty in breadth. The first lead-ore was discovered by Philip Francis Renault and M. La Motte, acting under the authority of the Company of the West, about the year 1720; since which period, the number of mines has been greatly augmented by new discoveries. The quantity of lead annually smelted from the crude ore, I have estimated at three millions of pounds; and the number of hands to whom it furnishes employment, at eleven hundred.

Iron-ore is found in very large bodies in Bellevieu, Washington county--on Fourche a Courtois, where it is accompanied by manganese--on Big river--on Platten and Joachim creeks--and on the waters of the St. Francis and Black rivers. Stone-coal exists in large bodies at Florissant, and in various places on the Osage river.

On the banks of the Maramec and the Gasconade are found numerous caves, which yield an earth impregnated largely with nitre, procured from it by lixiviation. On the head of Currents river are also found several caves, from which nitre is procured; the principal of which is Ashley's cave, on Cave creek, about eighty miles south-west of Potosi. This is one of those stupendous and extensive caverns which cannot be viewed without exciting our wonder and astonishment, which is increased by beholding the entire works for the manufacture of nitre, situated in its interior. The native nitrate of potash is found in beautiful white crystals, investing the fissures of the limestone rock, which forms the walls of this cave; and several others in its vicinity exhibit the same phenomenon.

Of the number of inhabitants now resident in the Territory, I have estimated eleven hundred to be engaged in mining; but the number was much greater at a former period, one thousand men having been employed at Mine a Burton alone. The residue of the population are farmers, mechanics, and manufacturers, including professional men. There is also another class of society, which I shall notice under the name of hunters. The farming class is by far the largest, as the fertility of the soil, and the advantage of procuring lands on easy terms, and in a mild climate, afford the strongest and surest prospects of gain to the emigrant. There are probably fewer mechanics than are required by the existing population. The wages of mechanics of all kinds are very high. A carpenter or bricklayer cannot be hired for less than two dollars per day, and often receives more. Other mechanics are also in demand, particularly in the new settlements; and these are increasing with such rapidity, as to invite the emigration of skilful and industrious artisans from all parts, with the sure prospect of success.

The manufactures of the Territory, in addition to its grand staple, lead, consist in the distillation of whiskey from rye and corn, in the flouring of wheat, the fabrication of coarse cotton goods, and tow cloth in private families, and of patent shot. Some white lead has been made at St. Louis. A clothier's and fuller's works have been recently established on Big river; and a number of tan-yards, where raw hides are manufactured into leather, are in successful operation in various sections of the country.

Made up of emigrants from all other parts of the United States, and from Europe, the inhabitants can hardly be said to have acquired an uniform character. Hospitality to strangers, enterprise in business, ardor in the pursuit of wealth, an elevated pride of country, and perseverance under the pressure of many difficulties growing out of the infancy of the settlements, are the most conspicuous traits in the character of the inhabitants west of the Mississippi. They are robust, frank, and daring. Taught, by the hardships and dangers incident to a frontier settlement, to depend for security and success upon their own individual exertions, they rely little upon extraneous help, and feel that true independence, flowing from a conviction that their own physical exertions are equal to every call, necessity, and emergency of life. Observations drawn from habitual intercourse, and from witnessing their public debates, would also lead us to conclude, that their enjoyments arise more from those active scenes attendant upon adventures which require corporeal exertion, than from the arts of peace, refinement, and intellectual research.

Duelling is unfortunately prevalent in Missouri; and the practice, while it continues to receive the sanction of men occupying the first rank in society, cannot be expected to fall into disrepute, but must, on the contrary, continue to exert its influence over other classes of the community, and to involve, in some measure, in its consequences, those who from principle are opposed to it.

Those scenes of riot and atrocity, however, which have been imputed to the inhabitants of the mines by former travellers, do not now exist; the most beneficial changes having been effected in the state of society in that country. Emigration has added to the former population an accession of talents and intelligence, which has served to mark the society at the mines with much of the hospitality, decorum, and refinements of older settlements.

The first inhabitants of this part of ancient Louisiana were French and Spanish; the former of whom still constitute a considerable proportion of the population, but of the latter there are very few remaining. The French language is therefore spoken, in many settlements, almost exclusively; and many of the Americans have found it advantageous to acquire a knowledge of that tongue.

The hunter class of the population is composed of persons from various sections of the Union, who have either embraced hunting from the love of ease or singularity, or have fled from society to escape the severity of the laws, and to indulge in unrestrained passion. Learning and religion are alike disregarded, and in the existing state of society among the Missouri hunters, we are presented with a contradiction of the theories of philosophers of all ages; for we here behold the descendants of enlightened Europeans in a savage state, or at least in a rapid state of advance towards it. These hunters are chiefly located on the White, Arkansas, and Red rivers. Their numbers may be computed at a thousand or fifteen hundred. The late division of the Territory will throw nearly all of them into Arkansas.

The principal tribe of Indians in this Territory are the Osages, a powerful nation residing on the Osage river. They are remarkable for their tall stature, and their fine proportions. It is very rare to see any of them under six feet. They inhabit a delightful country, and are in amity with the United States. Their chiefs are hereditary, and in war they fight on horseback. Their warriors are called _braves_, to which honor no one can arrive without having previously plundered or stolen from the enemy. Hence, plundering and stealing are acts of the greatest merit, and demand rewards proportionate to the adroitness or extent of the act. They are also in the habit of plundering white hunters and travellers, but are never known to commit murders on such occasions.

A part of the ancient and once powerful tribes of Shawnees and Delawares, also inhabit this Territory. They are located on the banks of Apple creek and Fourche a Courtois.

Many of the plantations and mines are worked by slaves, and among them are to be found blacksmiths and carpenters, whose services are extremely valuable to their masters. The introduction of slavery into this section of the western country, appears to have taken place at an early day, and it has led to a state of society which is calculated to require their continued assistance.

HOT SPRINGS OF WASHITA.

The attention of the traveller in the interior of Missouri and Arkansas, is frequently arrested by the novelty of the scenery, and the wild and singularly fanciful aspect of the country; he is often induced to stop, to survey some cavern, water-fall, high, loose-hanging cliff, or other natural phenomenon. It is in this light that those natural curiosities, the Hot Springs of Washita, will be found to reward attention.