Shullsburg Town (part 1 of 2)

Iilstoky Of The Lead Region

ore co'.itains much pliosplioi'iis, and the iron is known as "coldshort," but, when blended with other ores, silicious and free from phosphorus, the product is very valuable for foundry purposes. The depo?!it i^ found in ronk"^ of njrcat thickness which are already being mined at many points from the locality of first recognition to Tennessee. Clinton ore is found in Wisconsin sometimes immediately overlying tlic iiudsoa iliver or Cincinnati shales; but, more generally, the Clinton rocks merge into the Niagara limestone rocks in the eastern part of the State. Iron Ridge, in Dodge County, is an important deposit. A ledge of Niagara limestone running north and south, looking down upon lower land to the west, covers an ore bed from fifteen to eighteen feet thick, with horizontal layers ranging from three inches to fifteen, of concretionary structure, having lenticular grains one-twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter. The topmost layer is a dark purple, slightly metallic to the eye, but not resembling the other layers in structure. At Mayville, Mr. Sweet examined a thickness of forty feet three-fourths of a mile from the ridge, and the same authority gives the results of his analysis of the ridge ore in the following formula : Iron peroxide, 66.38; carbonate of lime, 10.42; carbonate of magnesia, 2.79; silica, 4.72; alumina, 5.54 ; manganese oxide, 0.44; sulphur, 0.23; phosphoric acid, 0.73; water, 8.75-100; metallic iron, 46.66. The average furnace yield of the ore at Mayville is about 45 per cent. ' Two small furnaces operating at Mayville and Iron Ridge, and using charcoal, smelt from these ores an iron sometimes rich in phosphorus. The ore is not usually smelted at the local furnaces, being mainly shipped to the extensive iron works in Chicago, Joliet and Springfield, 111., St. Louis, Mo., Appleton, Green Bay, Depere and Milwaukee, Wis., and Wyandotte and Jackson, Mich., to mix with other ores. The yield of the ridge eight years ago exceeded 80,000 tons per annum. The base of the Niagara limestone is marked by similar deposits at other points further north in this State, but the commercial value of the ore in the instances noted is yet uncertain. The Potsdam sandstone, lowest of our horizontal formations, is highly charged with red hematite in many places ; and, in Westfield, Sauk County, an excellent iron ore has displaced the sandstone, but the extent of the deposit is unknown.

Hydrated or brown sesquioxide, commonly known as brown hematite, contains 60 per cent of iron when pure ; but the average yield comes nearer 40 per cent. Bog-iron ore is one of the varieties of brown hematite, a porous deposit from the water of bogs and marshes found in Portage, Wood and Juneau Counties. Near Necedah, in Juneau County, and near Grand Rapids, Wood County, are excellent bog ores containing nearly 50 per cent of iron, but the quantity available is uncertain. Brown hematite mixed with red ore is found in Sauk County and in Richland County adjoining, filling fractures and cavities in the Potsdam sandstone ; and two furnaces are now in operation on this ore at Ironton and Cazenovia, the first named having been established many years, and having proved the value and quantity of the deposit.

Magnetic ores and specular hematites are found intimately mingled in the same group of rocks in Wisconsin, and, although not yet included among the industrial products of the State, there are many indications that they will rank high in its mineral sources of wealth. Magnetite is an oxide of iron, containing, when pure, about 72 per cent of iron, the highest percentage indeed possible to an ore. Specular hematite is of the same nature as red hematite, but the ore is crystalline and hard, with a metallic luster. These ores combined seldom give more than 50 per cent of metal, and the richest ores hardly ever yield more than 65 per cent. There are two iron districts in this State in which specular and magnetic ores abound ; the Menomonee, near the head-waters of the river of that name, in Township 40, Ranges 17 and 18 east, Marinette County,' and the Penokee in Bayfield, Ashland and Lincoln Counties, ten to twenty miles south of Lake Superior. Veins and nets of specular iron are found with the quartz rocks of Baraboo Valley, Sauk County, and in Necedah, Juneau County ; and in the vicinity of the Black River Falls, Jackson County, in a peculiar quartz-schist, magnetic and specular iron oxides are found, but so far it does not appear that the ore would pay for reduction. The ores are found in the Menomonee and Penokee districts in slaty and quartzose rocks, extensions of the series which in the Northern Peninsula of Michigan have contributed so largely to the fame and wealth of that State as a producer of iron. Lean magnetic and specular ores are found in this rock series, in great beds, combined with large quantities of quartz, forming bold ridges, almost defying the power of the air to erode them ; but of little or no value for reduction. Other layers in the same series, very soft and seldom outcropping, for that reason are extremely rich, and the Menomonee region possesses the last-named layers in a marked proportion. One of these deposits shows a breadth of more than 150 feet of first-class specular ore. The existence of similar beds in the Penokee district, may be reasonably inferred, as the rocks form part of the same series, but the discovery has yet to be made, and should probably be sought north of the main range, under heavy deposits of drift which cover large areas of iron-bearing rock. There are lean ores in the Penokee range which are almost rich enough to pay for reduction, and which by and by will be reduced.

Copper is not raised in Wisconsin, except at Mineral Point, where chalcopyrite, the yellow sulphide of copper and iron, are found in the crevices of Galena limestone. Copper in small quantities in pyrites, can be found all through the lead region, but the return would not pay for exhaustive exploration. In Northern Wisconsin, also, copper is found, but under different conditions ; and it remains to be seen whether the newer developments will pay for mining, as many hope and believe. The Keweenaw Point, and Isle Royale copper-bearing rocks stretch across this State in two belts, southwesterly and parallel. One belt commences the journey at Montreal River, crossing Ashland and Bayfield Counties, and then expanding, fills a large area in the counties of Douglas, Saint Croix, Barron and Chippewa. The back-bone of the Bayfield peninsula is found by the other belt which continues its bold ridge across Douglas County to Minnesota. The rocks appear to be igneous, as we have elsewhere explained, but they are distinctly bedded and partly interstratified with sandstone, shales, and bowlder conglomerates. Veins cross the rock beds, in which pure metallic copper can be found in fine flakes, and like deposits are found scattered all through the several layers. There have been attempts at mining on small scales in these belts where nature favors experiment, but the commercial value of the deposit must be determined by larger and more scientific endeavors.

Gold may be found in infinitesimal quantities in almost any part of the earth, but there are few even of the great diggings where it actually pays to mine for the precious metal. A few men become suddenly rich, but the great mass remain poor to the end, until they mingle their dust with that of the placer in which their lives have been spent to so little purpose. Traces of both the precious metals have been found in Wisconsin, but happily not in any such quantities as may ever disturb the normal and more profitable industries of mankind. Clark County and Ashland County are the two localities said to be auriferous and argentiferous in the trivial degrees mentioned. Thus ends our record of the metals found in Wisconsin.

The non-metallic minerals may now pass under brief review. Brick clays are of great value to Wisconsin, and they are found extending inland from the great lakes for many miles, telling of a time, probably long after the glacial period, when these immense bodies of water covered a still greater area. The beds of clay are stratified and of lake formation, containing large amounts of carbonate of lime. In this State that stratum of wealth gives employment to thousands who make and burn bricks to the extent of more than 50,000,000 annually. Some of the bricks are red and others cream color, and it has been claimed that the red color indicated the presence of more iron in the constituents of the clay ; but a series of experiments and analyses carried out by Mr. Sweet, formerly of Madison in this State, and now of Colorado, and supplemented by analyses by Prof Daniells, of Madison University, show that the quantities of iron in the clav at Milwaukee, the clay in Madison, from which red bricks are made, and the clay from Lake Superior, in Ashland County, only vary in fractional parts, the difference showing a slight excess of iron in the cream-colored Milwaukee clay over the clay used in the red bricks in Madison. Carbonate of lime seems to be the ingredient in respect to which the bricks of Milwaukee differ from some of the bricks made elsewhere. The clay from which light-colored bricks are made is often a bright red at the outset of its career, as raw material for the manufacturer. Tiles and pottery of excellent quality are made from this clay in many places, and the number of men employed in such industries will steadily increase. The lake clays already named are not the only deposits of the kind in the State available for such uses. The Yahara Valley in Dane County has an excellent stratified clay which is burned into red brick at Madison, and to creamcolored brick at Oregon and Stoughton. Platteville, Lancaster and other noteworthy points in the southwestern parts of Wisconsin are favored with fine beds of clay, from which excellent red brick is made, and the enterprise of the people will develop other and still more valuable methods to convert these deposits into sources of wealth and happiness.

Kaolin is a contribution to our language from the Chinese, being used by the Celestials to denote the rock from which they make their porcelain. We use the word to indicate a very fine clay, although it differs widely from the material employed by the Chinese and Japanese in the fabrication of their exquisite wares. Our kaolin is the result of a disintegration of felspathic crystalline rocks, the base of supply not being removed from its place of deposit. Silica, alumina and water combine to form the mineral kaolinite which is the base of our porcelain clay. Foreign ingredients, which are as a rule present in the rock when the process of disintegration is advancing, are removed more or less completely by manipulative skill, and a pure white clay of exceptional fineness is the result. Wisconsin is rich in the crystalline rocks from which kaolin may be formed, but the disintegrated material is rarely found, probably in consequence of glacial action having denuded the softened parts of the rocks. From Grand Rapids, on the Wisconsin River, westward to Black River, in Jackson County, is a belt where the crystalline rocks were once overlaid by sandstone, and at the point of junction many water courses lent their aid to the work of disintegration. Over the area named, drift action has been trivial or is entirely wanting, so that all the conditions have favored the deposition of porcelain clay or kaolin. The beds of the Wisconsin, Yellow and Black Rivers have large exposures of the desiderated rock overlaid by sandstone on either side, and just where the deposits of disintegration might be expected, kaolin is comparatively abundant, stretching across the country in the lines of the layers of the tilted crystalline rocks, waiting only the manipulative skill of competent workmen and artists for conversion into forms of beauty that will charm wealth into the surrender of its hoards. On the Wisconsin, near Grand Rapids, these patches are very numerous, varying in dimensions from less than an inch to many feet in depth. The quality is also variant ; some pure and refractory, and other parts fusible and impure.

Milwaukee cement rock has been already referred to in our geological summary, but in this relation that material must be again mentioned to assist the classification of our minerals. Certain layers of Lower Magnesian limestone produce a lime which has in a large degree the hydraulic property. Some parts of the blue limestone, in the Trenton group, which may be found in Southwestern Wisconsin has that quality ; but the best yet discovered in this State is the Milwaukee cement rock. The location of the deposit has been already given. The cement is obtained in almost any quantity, and the product manufactured from it exceeds in value and strength every other material of the kind, except the famous Portland cement, made in Great Britain. The rock exhibits great evenness in the distribution of its ingredients throughout the mass, and will prove of great value. Ripon has a cement rock which belongs to the Lower Magnesian limestone, but it cannot compare in excellence and durability with the great deposit of cement rock near Milwaukee.

Niagara limestone furnishes an excellent quick-lime, white and pure, far in advance of the other formations ; Lower Magnesian ranking next, as when burned it makes a strong mortar, but it is " off color," to use the language sometimes applied to precious stones. Madison lime is burned from the Lower Magnesian. Trenton limestone does not yield good lime, and the Galena limestone is little better in that respect, but much lime is made therefrom. Nearly half a million barrels of lime annually is now being made in this State from Niagara limestone alone. There is a limestone quarry near Milwaukee ; the stone from which is used very successfully as a flux, at the rolling-mills" at Bay View, in that city ; but Shoemaker's quarry is one of very few, as our limestones are mostly Magnesian. Some layers of Trenton limestone in many parts of Wisconsin, especially in the southern section, are non-magnesian, and will reward investigation when the demand increases.

Our readers will remember the reference made elsewhere to St. Peter's sandstone, as a pure white, siliceous sand, suitable in glass making, and it is gratifying to note that this excellent material is being applied to the use named at many places in Eastern Wisconsin with advantage.

Peat will hardly ever be depended on as a fuel in this country, where coal is within easy reach ; but as a fertilizer it is of great value, and it is therefore a matter for congratulation that it can be obtained in great quantity, and of good quality, from the marshes in the eastern and central parts of the State. We have now nearly completed our presentation of the geological resources of Wisconsin, as nothing remains but to note the varieties of building stone available, and before proceeding to their enumeration it is our duty to acknowledge our obligations to Prof. Charaberlin, Prof. Irving, Prof. Whitney, Mr. Strong, Mr. Sweet and to many other gentlemen, whose storehouses of fact have been ransacked without scruple to render these pages interesting and complete. More especially we are under deep obligations to the gentleman first named, our chief geologist, for kindnesses innumerable, the value of which will, we hope, appear in the enhanced worth of this volume.

The story of the rocks has been a sketch, necessarily hasty and incomplete, of the various layers of sedimentary stone and trap from the Archaean upheaval to the drift formation, all more or less adapted to building purposes ; we shall name only a few kinds, representative of the great series. Granite and gneissic rock, the core of our State, are found in protruding masses at many points in Northern Wisconsin. Red granites, of great value and beauty, which have not yet been worked, but which will some day in the near future reward enterprise with rich returns, are exposed on the Wisconsin River and on Yellow and Black Rivers, more especially at Black Bull Falls, near which there may yet be quarries opened to supply the demands of neighboring States as well as our own for a building material seldom surpassed in loveliness and durability.

Along the shore line of Lake Superior, from Michigan to the Minnesota boundary, a valuable sandstone, handsome and enduring, is found in Wisconsin. This rock forms the base of the Apostle Islands, and is largely quarried in one of them to supply Milwaukee and Chicago with a dark-brown, uniform and very fine-grained stone, upon which fashion and good taste have set their seal of approbation. The stone can be worked with comparative ease, in blocks of almost any dimensions that can be transported, and many public and private buildings in the great cities named are constructed of this excellent material. The neighboring islands and contiguous points on the mainland, offer abundant opportunities to quarry stone of the same kind, in every respect as good, so that the much-admired brown-stone front, in which opulence finds delight, will some day, soon, offer attractions to be embraced by a much larger class in our community. There is a hardened, well-compacted sandstone, ranging from white to brown in color, and of even grain, obtained from the Potsdam series, at Stevens' Point, Grand Rapids, Packwaukee, Wautoma, Black River Falls, and at several points in the Baraboo Valley, so that this valued stone is known to be easily accessible in Portage County and in the counties of Wood, Marquette, Waushara, Jackson and Sauk. Besides the treasures thus unfolded, the uppermost layers of the same series furnish a very sightly buff colored, calcareous sandstone, which is quarried near Madison, in Dane County, and largely used in building the ornate residences for which the capital of the State is justly famous.

The limestone formations of this State furnish many varieties of building stone of less and greater value, and mostly durable as well as handsome. The stratum known as " Mendota," from its outcropping near the lake of that name, near Madison, is a part of the Potsdam series, very evenly bedded, finely-grained and yellow, well appreciated throughout the region in which it is found, and worked extensively all around Madison, as well as throughout the Lower Wisconsin Valley. A cream colored limestone, from the Lower Magnesian]series, is quarried in Westport, Dane County, and very handsome fine-grained stone is supplied from a base that is practically inexhaustible. It is, however, fruitless to attempt a complete summary of our resources in building-stone, as the work might crowd a volume and still fail to do justice to the wealth of detail by which we are surrounded; hence we mast content ourselves with but a brief reference to the remaining series of limestones - the Trenton, Galena and Niagara - in this respect, and so close our necessarily imperfect resume. The Trenton layer is usually thin but evenly bedded, not highly valued by builders, but sometimes utilized for' laying in wall. Galena and Niagara limestones permit of a much larger variety of uses, and, in Eastern Wisconsin, the last-named layer supplies a white stone, very compact and enduring, easily worked and capable of a high finish. It is not easy to estimate the millions of men who will find homes in this State within the next century, as the reward of enterprise and well-applied labor in the development of its mineral resources.

Having dealt somewhat exhaustively, though not completely, with the rock formations, we come now to consider the general contour of the country embraced by our history, the surface, streams and hills. A detailed description of the geological formation of this immediate locality might be written without reference to the surrounding counties, since Iowa, La Fayette and Grant Counties are entirely within the limits of a distinctive division, but. for the purpose of giving a more comprehensive report, it is deemed advisable to ignore political boundaries, and treat of those lines which nature created ages untold before the presence of man upon the scene.

The Mineral District In Detail

The Mineral District of Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa is recognized by geologists as an area peculiar to itself, and is written about as such. The geographical scope of this article extends, however, for cbvious reasons, from the easternmost line of the mineral-bearing formation in Wisconsin to the Mississippi River on the west, and from the northernmost limit of the district, the Wisconsin River, to the dividing line between Wisconsin and Illinois, so far as local or detailed description is intended.

It is given on the authority of James G. Percival, State Geologist from August 12, 1854, to the time of his death, May 2, 1856, that the mineral district reaches no further eastward than Sugar River, which runs in a general southeasterly course, rising in Township 7 north. Range 7 east, Dane County, and traversing the eastern range of Green County. Occasionally small quantities of lead ore are found further east, but no especial mention of such deposits is required here.

In 1834, Mr. G. W. Featherstonhaugh began the first survey of the district lying between ihe Missouri River and Red River of the North, and the upper part of the valley of the Mississippi and the mining districts adjacent to that river. The survey was completed in 1835, under the patronage of the General Government. Another survey was made by the Government in 1889. Dr. D. D. Owen was the geologist in charge of the latter exploration, but the magnitude of the task prohibited a minute examination of this region. In 1853, Prof. E. Daniels published a pamphlet concerning the geology of the lead region, under the auspices of the State of Wisconsin. Dr. J. G. Percival was the next scientist to prepare a report, but his laboi-s were cut short by death. May 2, 1856. Upon the death of Dr. Percival, Profs. James Hall, E. S. Carr and E. Daniels were appointed, and, in 1858, Prof. Daniels issued a report on the iron ores of the State. In 1862, Profs. Hall and Whitney published the largest report that had up to that date been presented, about three-quarters of the work being given to the lead region. Rev. John Murrish issued a smaller report in 1872. In 1873, the late Moses Strong, Assistant State Geologist, was instructed to prepare a report covering points not touched on by previous surveyors, and, during that and the succeeding year, responded to the request. From these voliyaaes, but mainly from the report of Mr. Strong, the following facts are compiled.

Death Of Moses Strong

Because of the grand work performed by Mr. Strong in this locality, as well as because of his residence in Mineral Point, it is deemed proper to interrupt the geological record for a time, and here insert the following account of his melancholy death :

The following notice is taken from the Wisconsin State Journal of February 4, 1878 : "In his annual report of the Wisconsin Geological Survey, just issued from the press of the State Printer, Prof. T. C. Chamberlin, Chief Geologist, ha? taken occasion to commemorate, in most fit and appreciative terms, the virtues and qualities of one of his associates in the survey, the late Moses Strong, who lost his life in the service of the State, and for his devotion to the cause of scientific discovery and research. The faculty to win at once the respect of those who became associated with him was one of the marked, peculiar and shining qualities of Mr. Strong's character ; and the more intimate became the association, the higher the admiration for his genius, and the more enduring the impression of the sterling attributes of his mind and heart. Those who knew him best will be the most ready to second, and the most sincerely to indorse the high and deserved panegyric which his associate, in such apt and felicitous words, has pronounced upon him. In the opening of the report, a circumstantial account of the mournful accident by which Mr. Strong lost his life is given, which we republish."

The following letter was the last received by Prof. Charaberlin from Mr. Strong, on the eve of his departure for that which proved to be his last earthly exploration :

Stevens Point, August 15, 1877. Dear Chamberlin : 1 leave here to-morrow morning, and, on account of very low water, I find it necessary to make the trip up the North Fork of the Flambeau first, and thence down the South Fork to Fifield.

The subsequent events are clothed with inexpressible sadness. The following account was prepared immediately after the melancholy event, by one whose facilities for obtaining the exact facts exceed our own, and whose painful feelings caused every incident to impress itself with unwonted force and vividness upon his feelings and memory :

" Mr. Strong left Stevens Point on Thursday, the 16th, accompanied by William P. Gundry, of Mineral Point, and John Hawn, of Stevens Point, a guide whom he had hired, who was familiarly known as ' Sailor Jack,' and who was an experienced woodsman, and an expert in canoe navigation. The party went by railroad to the crossing of the Flambeau River, where they arrived about 6 o'clock P. M. The next day, Friday, was spent in procuring boats and other preparations for ascending the river. Mr. Strong obtained a light skiff, made of riven white cedar, which he thought well adapted for the purposes for which he wished to use it. He also obtained a birch-bark canoe, in which were to be transported the supplies and camp equipage for the party of three.

" They commenced the ascent of the Flambeau on Saturday morning, and continued it for nine or ten miles without any remarkable incident, until nearly 3 o'clock P. M., when they came to some rapids, supposed to be in Section 28, Township 41, Range 1 east. The rapids were about one hundred and fifty feet from the foot to the head. The bed of the river was fi'^cd with numerous rocks, over and about which the water rushed rapidly. ' Sailor Jack ' took the lead, in the bark canoe and its freight, followed by Mr. Strong and young Gundry, in the cedar skiff. Jack had reached the head of the rapids, or nearly so, as the others were entering upon the ascent. Mr. Strong was standing in the bow of the skiff, using a long, light pole for propelling it, while Gundry was sitting in the stern, using the oars for the same purpose. Near the foot of the rapids was a rock, past which they pushed the skiff far enough so that the current struck its bow and turned it around the rock in such a manner that the whole force of the current, striking it broadside, tarned it over. As it Avas going over, Mr. Strong jumped from it into the water, and stood upon a rock in the bed of the river, over which the water was three and a half feet deep, and came up to his waist. Immediately below the rock where he was standing and holding on to the skifi", the water was twelve feet deep, into which Mr. Gundry went as the . ff upset. At that instant he hollowed to Mr. Strong, 'I can't swim,' who replied, 'Hold to the boat.' Gundry held on at first, but, in attempting to get a better hold, or in someway, lost his hold of the boat and was carried into the water, into which he was sinking. Simultaneously, the skiff went down the stream, and Mr. Strong left his position of comparative safety, and was immediately in the deep water, and sunk to the bottom of it, to rise no more.

-' Why he left the place where he was standing, and let the boat go, is a matter of conjecture. One theory is, that he slipped and could stand there no longer ; but this is not as probable as is the theory of the men who were engaged in searching for his body, which is, that as soon as Le saw that his friend Gundry had lost his hold of the boat and was sinking, he threw himself into the water, in the vain (as it proved) effort to save his companion from drowning. He was a good swimmer, very self-confident and self-reliant, and would not have been likely to apprehend any disaster to himself in the efforts to save his friend, and if he had, the apprehension would not have deterred him.

" The reason why he did not reach Gundry is very satisfactorily explained by Gundry himself, who says that, while he was under the water, he distinctly saw Mr. Strong with his legs drawn up, as in a sitting position, with his arms bent in front of his breast, in which position he sank, and his body was in this position when found. It, therefore, would seem quite certain that, in his effort to save Gundry, Mr. Strong was seized with cramps, which deprived him of the power of swimming, and resulted in his own drowning, and the certainty is increased by the fact that his body was found on the bottom of the river, not more than thirty or forty feet from where he had been standing.

"That Mr. Gundry escaped drowning is almost miraculous. He drifted down the river until his feet struck a sand-bar, which enabled him barely to get his head above the surface of the water. Here he stood in water up to his neck, until he was rescued by Jack Hawn. As soon as Jack heard the cries, he left his canoe at the head of the rapids and ran to the foot ol them, wheice he saw Gundry's head above the water, and the skiff floating down the stream. He immediately rushed into the water and secured the skiff, and with it rescued Gundry from his peril.

" The time of the accident was 2:55, as indicated by the watches of both the young men, which were stopped at the time of being submerged. The body of Mr. Strong was found at 6 o'clock on Sunday evening, in eight and one-half feet of water. It might probably have been found sooner, but for the erroneous supposition of those engaged in the search that it had drifted further than proved to be the fact."

At the time- the crushing news was received, his father, the Hon. Moses M. Strong, was at Stevens' Point, and, through a generosity and courtesy that commands our warmest admiration, a special train was placed at his disposal by General Manager E. B. Phillips, of the Wisconsin Central Railroad, whereby he was enabled to reach at an early hour the scene of the disaster.

The remains were conveyed to Mineral Point, where they were laid to rest, amid profound sorrow, not alone of kindred and friends, nor of the community by which he was so highly esteemed, but of the entire commonwealth in whose service he had fallen.

The loss to the survey, though immeasurably less than the unspeakable affiiciion to the smitten family, is very great. Mr. Strong's careful notes, even up to the very I our of his death, were all recovered in a legible condition ; yet, though they were taken with ihat painstaking care that so prominently characterized his work, they can never receive at tl e hands ol another that fullness and completeness of elaboration which they would have received from their author.

In Memoriam - Moses Strong - {June 17, 1846 - August 18, 1877). - The lapse jt a geologic age is little to us save in the record it has left us. The infinitude of its days are of little moment if they form a " Lost Interval." The record is little to us save in its character. An eon of ages may have heaped up an immensity of sands, but if they have buried neither life nor treasure, it is but a barren interval. The years that formed the coal, the ore and the life beds, however brief among the eras of the earth's history, are more to us than all lost or barren intervals, however vast their cycles. So the eon of life. June 17, 1846 - August 18, 1877. These are the limiting signs of human age. What is the record?

The earlier period of Mr. Strong's life, the period of fundamental intellectual deposit and moral accretion, were spent where the basal strata of character are best laid, at home.

His early training and instruction were largely received at the hands of an intellectual father and a pious mother, the combination which best matures thought and develops morals. To this was added something of the cosmopolitan culture of the public schools. In his thirteenth year he entered the French and English school then located at Sauk City, where he acquired some knowledge of the rudiments of the versatile language of the French. A collegiate course had, however, been selected as an important feature of his education, and in his fourteenth year his studies were turned specifically in that direction under the tuition of the Rev. Mr. Skinner, then Rector of the Episcopal Church at Mineral Point. The last few months of these preparatory studies were passed at Delavan, in this State, whither Mr. Skinner had removed, and some of the citizens of that place will recall the quiet manner of the young student. Let it be noted that thus far, more than half the span of his life, he had been chiefly under the quiet but potent molding power of paternal and pastoral influence. Under these auspices the predominant traits of his character were formed, and the most important part of his education accomplished, the education that looks toward manhood.

But, though the home is wide enough for the boy, the world is none too broad for the man, and Mr. Strong now entered upon that wider culture which was to fit him for the still broader school of life. In September, 1863, he was admitted to Yale College, in whose classic atmosphere he passed the succeeding four years. It was in our judgment a fortunate circumstance, in view of the fact that he subsequently turned his attention so largely to engineering and scientific studies, that so considerable an element of literary study entered into his course at this period. In the junior year of his college course, he selected the profession of mining engineer as his life pursuit, and during the remainder of his course his reading, outside of his class studies, was mainly such as was germane to his chosen profession. Immediately after his graduation, he was off'ered an opportunity to engage in practical civil engineering in connection with the survey of a railroad line along the Mississippi, between La Crosse and Winona. This work, however, was cut short by sickness.

In the fall of the same year he returned to New Haven, and spent the year in the Sheffield Scientific School in the study of natural science, higher mathematics, drawing and kindred studies. In the pursuance of these studies he was much indebted to Prof Blush, of the chair of mineralogy and metallurgy, who had completed his education in Germany, and by whom Mr. Strong's desire to complete his own education in that country was stimulated to its consummation.

Mr. Strong sailed for Germany in July, 1868, and returned in the same month of the year 1870. His first year was spent in the mining school at Clausthal, in the Hartz Mountains, and the second at the celebrated school at Freyberg, in Saxony. These two years afforded excellent facilities for the pursuit of his professional studies, both in the extensive mines aud the ample laboratories.

Soon after his ret'jrn from Germany, Mr. Strong engaged in the practice of his profession - the survey of the extensive lead mines of Crawford, Mills & Co., at Hazel Green, being his first engagcuient. Upon the completion of this, he was entrusted by the firm with a financial mission to New York.

It was always the intention of Mr. Strong to pursue the work which he had planned for his life in the mines of the West, but his devotion to his parents, and his attachment to the home of his infancy aud youth, and its domestic associations, were so great that he was reluctant to remove to so distant a field of labor, so long as he could be profitably engaged without permanently distuibiag the ties and aS"ections which bound him with such devotion to the scenes that had given so much pleasure to his earlier years.

Deeming a practical acquaintance with civil engineering, especially so far as relates to the location and construction of railroads, a valuable accessory to his profession as mining engineer, he became associated for varying periods, and in diflferent capacities, in the location of the Northern Pacific, the Wisconsin Central, and several preliminary lines in the lead region.

On the inauguration of the geological survey, in 1873, Gov. Washburn, upon the recommendation of the late Dr. I. A. Lapham, then chief geologist, commissioned Mr. Strong as

Assistant State Geologist. During the years 1873 and 1874, he was engaged chiefly in the examination of the lead region. In 1875, he extended his work, adjacent to the Mississippi, as far north as Trempealeau County.

The history of Mr. Strong's work during the past year, and of its calamitous close, has already been given on a previous page. He fell in the midst of his work, in its active prosecution. His last notes were recorded but a few moments before they were submerged with him beneath the fatal rapids. The life passed away, but its latest recocd remained. These last recordings are marked by blanks. The formation has been described, but spaces were left for the location, which was not then determined, These blanks may be filled, but he has left other blanks we may not fill. He fell pushing up the stream - in fact and in symbol - not floating down it. He stood at the prow, pressing onward and upward, with duty for his motive and truth for his aim.

In character, he was modest and unassuming, and commanded respect rather by the merits he could not conceal than by any that were assumed. His quiet manner never revealed the real executive strength which he possessed. He accomplished more than he seemed to be attempting. His quiet seif-possession gave steady and effective direction to his activities, and stood as a bar alike to the aberrations of mental confusion, the eff'ervescence of merely emotional enthusiasm, and the turbulence of illusive energy. Judiciousness in the application, rather than the absolute amount of energy displayed, characterized his eff'orts.

His retiring disposition excluded aggressive personal ambition, and his self-assertion was limited to that called forth in the discharge of his duties. His personal advancement was due to inherent merit or the efforts of others, rather to self-zeal and assurance on his part.

Candor and sincerity were eminent traits in his character, and honesty of expression marked alike his life and his language. His integrity was absolutely above question. No bond but his honor was requisite for the security of whatever trust was reposed in him. In attestation of his attractive personal traits, he enjoyed the warm friendship of his associates, and, in an unusual degree, the esteem of the community in which he was so well known.

In harmony with his whole nature, Mr. Strong's religious convictions were of the practical rather than the emotional type. Conscientiousness in the fulfillment of every relationship of life was the fundamental stratum upon which was erected the temple of his faith. In outward recognition of his persuasions, he became a member and regular communicant of the Protestant Episcopal Church.

If he could have chosen the form of his departure, and could have so molded it to best portray at once the soul of his ethical and religious views, he could perhaps have chosen nothing more fitting than that which the hand of destiny selected for him, to die from the perils that encompass duty, to die for his friend.

His domestic relations were most felicitous. Love given and received made his dwelling place a genial home. A kind father, a happy wife, and two lovely children, formed the hearth circle. The household penates always seemed to smile. That they are now broken and veiled, is the saddest thought of this sad story.

Obituary Notice of Knights Templar. - The following is a brief extract from the report of the Committee on Obituaries, to the Grand Commandery of Knights Templar of the State of Wisconsin, at the Nineteenth Annual Conclave held at Madison, October 2 and 3, 1877.

" The unusual fine advantages that he had enjoyed in youth and early manhood had been faithfully used, and he had fairly entered on a career that, had his life been spared, would have secured him honorable distinction.

" His character was one upon which his friends can look from any point of view with pride, with satisfaction and with love. To a mind trained by years of study and filled with valuable learning, he added a character of great moral excellence and of unsullied honor.

" Sir Knight Strong was initiate, d, passed and raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason in Mineral Point Lodge, No. 1 ; became a Royal Arch Mason in Iowa Chapter, No. 6, in Mineral Point, and was received and constituted a Knight Templar in Mineral Point Commandery, No. 12; receiving all his degrees in the place of his birth, and the home of his lifetime, and at the hands of those who knew full well that the honors he received were most worthily bestowed. His brethren mourn his loss with grieving and heartfelt sorrow. Such men as he it is who honor Masonry in their lives, and dying leave upon it the luster of a pure life and unspotted character."

The Driftless Area

Again resuming the narrative of geologic fact, it is observed that the most interesting fact presented for the consideration of the general geologist, is the entire absence of " drift," or diluvium throughout the southwestern quarter of the State, and, while extending far to the north, still including the region referred to herein. The lead district is dnftless. About twelve thousand square miles are embraced in these boundaries. The investigations by Mr. Roland D. Irving and Mr. Moses Strong have resulted in much interesting information. From the official reports is quoted the following :

"In the driftless region, which occupies nearly one-fourth of the entire area of the State, the drift is not merely insignificant, but absolutely wanting. Except in the valleys of the largest streams, like the Wisconsin and Mississippi, not a single erratic bowlder, nor even a rounded stone, is to be seen throughout the district; whilst the exception named is not really an exception, the small gravel deposits that occur on these streams having evidently been brought by the rivers themselves, during their former greatly expanded condition, from those portions of their courses that lie within the drift-bearing regions."

Those readers of this work who have not easy access to the official reports, may be interested to know the boundaries of the driftless region, and it is, therefore, here stated. The outline is, for the most part, sharply defined, both by a more or less sudden cessation of the drift materials, and by a change in the topography, as the line is crossed, from one side to the other. This is more especially true of the eastern boundary, in which the reader is naturally most interested. On this line are often seen heavy morainic heaps - that is, deposits of such bowlders and gravel as scientists have decided are carried under, or attached to the sides of glaciers, or to the center of glaciers which are formed by the union of two separate bodies of that nature. The effects of purely subaerial (or open air) erosion without drift, and the effects of glacial erosion with drift, are plainly distinguishable along these lines. The northern boundary of the region is mainly level country, the drift materials gradually diminishing to the south.

Mr. Strong defines the eastern line through Green County as beginning at the southwest corner, and waving irregularly northeast, until it crosses the county line on the north, about fifteen miles from the east line of Iowa County. Thence the line curves to the west, and crosses the Wisconsin about three miles east of the northeast corner of Iowa County ; thence, due north to Baraboo, curving as it crosses the Sauk County north line to touch Range 5 ; thence, with a gradual curve, it includes nearly all of Adams County, and swings to the northwest, touching Grand Rapids as its northeastern point ; thence, mainly west to the Mississippi River. This is now the accepted area, although Mr. Whitney differs somewhat from the definition as to the line through Adams and Juneau Counties. The report of 1877, by Mr. Irving, is referred to, for the benefit of those who desire a more detaded and argumentative description.

Mr. Irving says: "The nature of the topography of the driftless area, everywhere most patently the result of subaerial erosion exclusively, is even more striking proof that it has never been invaded by the glacial forces than is the absence of drift; material. Except in the level country of Adums, June;)u, and the eastern part of Jackson County, it is everywhere a region of narrow, ramifying valleys and narrow, steep-sided dividing ridges, whose direction are toward every point of the compass, and whose perfectly coinciding horizontal strata prove conclusively their erosive action. * * * * j^.-^^,]^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ numerous streams has its own ravine, and the ravines are all in direct proportion to the ^-elative sizes of the streams in them." [Reference is made to the contour maps drawn by Mr. Stiung, displaying, with instructive plainness, the topographic phenomena of the region.]

"The altitude of the driftless area, as compared with the drift bearing regions, becomes a matter of some importa.nce in any attempt to explain the absence of the drift phenomena. It has been stated by some writers that the driftless area is higher than the drift-bearing, and was, consequently, not subjected to glacial invasion. It is true that in general the eastern half of the State is lower than the western, but from what follows it will be seen that farther than this the statement is inaccurate. From the south line of the State, as fiir north as the head of Sugar River, in Cross Plains, the county west of the drift limit rises rapidly from 200 to 400 feet. Just north of the head of Sugar River the limit crosses high ground - the western extension of the high limestone and prairie belt of northern Dane and southern Columbia Counties - and the altitudes east of the limit are as great as those to the west ; whilst in passing from the head of the Catfish River westward, a glacier must have made an abrupt ascent of fully oOO feet. North of Black Earth River the limit has the higher ground, by 200 feet, on the east. Sauk Prairie is crossed on a level, and though higher ground occurs west of the prairie, its topography and the absence of drift show that the glacier never reached so far. Where the quartzite range north of Sauk Prairie is crossed by the limit, it is higher (850 feet above Lake Michigan) than any part of the driftless area except the Blue Mounds, whilst only a few miles east a great development of bowlders and gravel is found on one of the highest portions of the range (900 to 950 feet altitude). From the Baraboo north to the Sauk County line, there appears to be in relation between the position of the limit and the altitude of the country. From the north line of Sauk County, in curving to the eastward and northward around Adams County, the limit is on the very crest of the divide. From its position near the middle of the east line of Adams County, the country, for forty miles to the west, is from 100 to 200 feet lower. From the northwest part of Adams County to the Wisconsin River the limit is in a level country; whilst from the Wisconsin westward, the country north of it is everywhere much higher than that to the south, the rise northward continuin;^' to within thirty miles of Lake Superior."

In his discussion of the glacial drift, Mr. Irving reaches certain conclusions, which are here reproduced only so far as they relate positively to the area devoid of drift. The negative arguments, or those that go to proVe the absence of drift, because the region is not like the vast majority of the country, and of the Northern Hemisphere of the globe, are recited in brief:

"2. The Kettle Range of Central Wisconsin is a continuous terminal and lateral moraine. The mere fact of the existence of such a distinct and continuous belt of unstratified and moraine-like drift, which, in much of its course, lies along the edge of the driftless area, or, in other words, along the line on which the western foot of a glacier must long have stood, would go far toward proving the truth of the proposition [that this is true glacial drift], of which, however, a complete demonstration is at hand. In all the country just inside the Kettle Range, we find that glacial stri?e - channels - lines of glacial erosion, and lines of travel of erratics - bowlders, or minerals foreign to the locality where found - preserve a position at right angles to the course of the range, although that course veers in the southern part of the district from west to north. East of the Central Wisconsin district, the Kettle Range extends eastward and northeastward to the dividing ridge between the valley of Lake Michigan and the valley in Avhich lie Green Bay, Lake Winnebago, and the head-waters of Rock River, and along this ridge northward, into Green Bay Peninsula. All along this part of its course. Prof. Chamberlin has found the glacial strioe pointing east of south, and toward the Kettle Range, whilst along the middle of the Green Bay Valley he finds the strise directions parallel to the main axis of the valley, or a little west of south. On the west side of this great valley, and along the eastern border of the Central Wisconsin district, the stri£e trend about southwest, whilst still

" We have then a most beautiful proof that at one time the Green Bay Valley was occupied by a glacier, which was not merely a part of a universal ice sheet, but a distinctly separate tongue from the great northern mass. The end of this glacier was long in northern Rock County, its eastern foot on the East Wisconsin divide, and its western on the summit of the divide between the Fox and Wisconsin River systems, as far south as southern Adams County, after which it crossed into the valley of the Wisconsin, and from that into the head-waters of the Catfish branch of Rock River, in the Dane County region. Whilst the main movement of the glacier coincides in direction with the valley which it followed, it spread out on both sides in fan shape, creating immense lateral moraines. Peculiar circumstances caused the restriction of the eastern moraine or narrow area, whilst that on the west, having no such restriction, spread out over a considerable width of country, the breadth of the moraine reaching in Waushara County as far as twentyfive miles. This width of moraine must have been due to the alternate advance and retreat of the glacier foot. Such an advance and retreat appears, moreover, to be recorded in the long lines of narrow sinuous ridges, each marking, 'perhaps, the position of the glacier foot, or a portion of it, during a certain length of time. The intersecting of these winding ridges, which have no parallelism at all with one another, appears to me to have been the main cause of the formation of the kettle depressions. Col. Whittlesey [Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge], has supposed that these owe their origin to the melting of ice masses included within the moraine materials, and this may possibly be true with regard to more regularly circular kettles. The thickness of the great glacier we can only conjecture. It is easy to see, however, that it was at least a thousand feet, for it was able to accommodate itself to variations in altitude of many hundred feet. Morainic drift occurs on the summit of the Baraboo ranges over 900 feet above Lake Michigan, and on the immediately adjacent low ground, 700 below.

" 8. The driftless region of Wisconsin owes its existence, not to superior altitude, but to the. fact the glaciers were deflected from it by the influence of the valleys of Green Bay and Lake Superior. Some writers have thrown out the idea that the driftless area is one of present great altitude compared with the regions around it, and that, by virtue of this altitude during the Glacial period, it caused a splitting of the general ice sheet, itself escaping glaciation. This idea may have arisen from the fact that, in the southern part of the area, the district known as the ' lead region,' has a considerable elevation ; but the facts hitherto given have shown that, in reality, the driftless area is for the most part loiver than the drift-covered country immediately around ; the greatest development, for instance, of the western lateral moraine of the glacier of the Green Bay Valley, having been on the very crown of the water-shed between the Lake Michgan and Mississippi River slopes, whilst the driftless region is altogether on the last-named slope. Moreover, to the north, toward Lake Superior, and in Minnesota, the whole country covered with drift materials lies at a much greater altitude. J. D. Whitney, in his report on the lead region of Wisconsin, favors the idea that the driftless district stood, during the glacial times, at a much greater relative altitude than now, and so escaped glaciation. But it is evident that, in order that this could have been the case, either (1) a break or bend in the strata must have taken place along the line of junction between driftless or drift-bearing regions, or else (2) the driftless region has since received relatively a much greater amount of denudation than the driftbearing.

" That no break or bend ever took place along the line indicated, is abundantly proven by the present perfect continuity of the strata on both sides of the line, the whole region in Central Wisconsin being in fact one in which faults of any kind are things absolutely unknown. That no sensible denudation has taken place in Wisconsin since the glacial times, in either drift-bearing or driftless areas, is well proven by the intimate connection with one another of the systems of erosion of the two regions. The valley of Sugar River, for instance, with its branches, is throughout its course worn deeply into the underlying rocks; on its east side it contains moraine drift, proving that it was worn out before the Glacial period, whilst on the west it extends into the driftless regions. We are thus compelled to believe that, during the Glacial period, the region destitute of drift had the same altitude relatively to the surrounding country as at present. Before the Glacial period, portions of the drift-bearing region may indeed have been somewhat higher, for in it a considerable amount of material must have been removed from one place to another by the glacial forces. The only satisfactory explanation remaining, then, for the existence of the driftless region, is the one I have proposed. We have already seen that the extent of this region to the eastward was marked out by the western foot of the glacier which followed the valley of Green Bay. That it was not invaded from the north, is evidently due to the fact that the glacier or glaciers of that region were deflected to the westward by the influence of the valley of Lake Superior. The details of the movement for this northern country have not been worked out, but it is well known that what is probably the most remarkable and best-preserved development of morainic drift in the United States, exists on the water-shed south of Lake Superior. Here the drift attains a very great thickness, and the kettle depressions and small lakes without outlet are even more numerous and characteristic than in other parts of the State. The water-shed proper lies some thirty or forty miles south of the lake, and 800 to 1,200 feet above it, but the morainic drift extends twenty-five to fifty miles further southward. On the east side of the State, the drift of Lake Superior merges with that of Central and Eastern Wisconsin, while west of the western moraine of the Green Bay glacier, it dies out somewhat gradually, until 125 to 150 miles south of the lake the drift limit is reached. Much of the country twenty-five to seventy-five miles north of the driftless region, though showing numerous erratics, is quite without any marked signs of glaciation, as, for instance, along the valley of the Wisconsin, from Grand Rapids north to Wausau. Further west, the drift extends more to the southward. The course of the Lake Superior glaciers conveyed them further and further southward as they moved westward.

" Future investigations will undoubtedly bring out a close connection between tlbe structure of the Lake Superior Valley and the glacial movements south of it. Even the facts now at hand seem to point toward some interesting conclusions. Projecting from the south shore of Lake Superior, we find two great promontories, Keweenaw Point and the Bayfield Peninsula. Both of the projections have a course somewhat transverse to the general trend of the lake, bearing some thirty degrees south of west. Both have high central ridges or backbones, which rise 1,000 to 1,500 feet above the adjacent lake, and are made up of bedded igneous rocks, sandstones, and conglomerates of the copper series. Both of these ridges continue far westward on the mainland, having between them a valley, partly occupied by the lake, which is a true synclinal trough ; the rocks of the two ridges dipping toward one another. North of the Bayfield Peninsula, and again south of Keweenaw Point, we find two other valleys running in from the lake shore in the same direction. In all probability each one of these valleys has given direction to a glacier tongue. An inspection of a good map of the northern part of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Michigan, will serve to show that the almost innumerable small lakes (which are far more numerous than are shown in the best maps) of these regions, are concentrated into three main groups, each group corresponding to a great development of morainic drift, and lying in the line of one of the three valleys just indicated. I suppose that each of the lake groups is a moraine of the glacier which occupied the valley in whose line it lies. The main ice-sheet coming from the north met, in the great trough of Lake Superior, over 2,000 feet in depth, an obstacle which it was never able to entirely overcome, and so reached southward in small tongues composed perhaps of only the upper portions of the ice. These tongues being deflected Avestward by the rock structure of the country, and having their force mainly spent on climbing over the watershed, left the region further south untouched. The eastern part of the Lake Superior trough is not nearly so deep as the western, and the divide between Lake Superior and the two lakes south of it, never attains any great altitude, so that here the ice mass, having at the same time perhaps a greater force on account of its nearness to the head of the ice movement on the Laurentian highlands of Canada, was able to extend southward on a large scale, producing the glaciers of the Green Bay Valley, and of Lake Michigan.

" Although quite crude in its details, I am convinced that the main points of the explanation thus offered for the existence of the driftless region in the northwest will prove to he correct. To obtain a full elucidation of the subject, much must be done in the way of investigation, not only in Wisconsin, but over all of Minnesota and the States south, in order that the details of the ice-movement for the whole northwest may be fully understood.

"4. The stratified drift of the valleys (in the drift-covered regions) owes its structure and distribution to the water of the swollen streams and lakes that marked the time of melting of the glaciers. ^ .

" 5. The depth below the present surface of the rock valleys appears to indicate a greater altitude of this part of the continent during the Glacial period than at the present time."

Topography And Surface Geology Of The Lead Region

Mr. Moses Strong, in his report of 1877, says : " Unlike most regions which nature has selected for the reception of metallic ores and useful minerals, the lead region bears no evidence of any sudden disturbances or violent action of physical forces. The effects produced by igneous and eruptive agencies are wanting. Faults and dislocations of strata are nowhere found. The only irregularities are slight upheavals or bending of the strata (and these never of great extent), producing changes of but a few feet from the normal dip. Between the geological condition and the general surface contour of the country, there is no direct correlation. The existence of a hill or a valley on the surface is not due to a subterranean elevation or depression of surface, as is by many supposed, and whatever irregularities exist must be chiefly attributed to the milder natural agencies now constantly at Avork, such as running water, frost, winds, etc., acting through an immensely long period of time.

" Drainage. - The most marked and persistent feature of the lead region is the long dividing ridge, or water-shed, which, commencing near Madison, continues almost directly west to the Blue Mounds, a distance of about twenty miles. Here it takes a slight bend to the southwest for fifteen miles until it reaches Dodgeville, where it resumes its westerly course until it terminates in the bluffs at the confluence of the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers. Its total length is about eighty-five miles. Two points are noticeable - one is its general uniform directness of outline (it being subject to but few and unimportant flexures), and the other is its parallelism with Wisconsin River so long as the latter holds an approximately westerly course, tl\e summit of the ridge being always about fifteen miles from the river. The divide maintains an average elevation of about six hundred feet above Lake Michigan, and is seldom less than five hundred or more than seven hundred, except at the Blue Mounds, where it gradually rises east and west for several miles until it attains an elevation at the west mound of one thousand one hundred and fifty-one feet. This, however, is an extreme case, and, in fact, the only marked exception to the general level. In the town of Mount Hope, a slight decrease of elevation is about four hundred and thirty feet at a point within a mile of both the Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers. There are also two main branches or subdivisions of the water-shed. Of these, the western is the ridge which separates the waters that flow into the Platte and Fever Rivers from those which flow into the Pecatonica. It leaves the main divide in the town of Wingville, and, passing through the townships of Bellmont and Shullsburg in a southeasterly direction, passes out of the State in the town of Monticello. The ridge is not so conspicuous as the main watershed, either for the directness of its course or the uniformity of its elevation. The most conspicuous points on it are the Platte Mounds, which appear from a distance to be very high, but their height is only relative, their actual elevation being about seven hundred feet above Lake Michigan. The ridge appears to slope somewhat in its approach to Illinois, its average elevation there being about five hundred feet.

" The easterly subdivision is that which separates the waters of the Pecatonica and Sugar Rivers. It may be said to begin at the Blue Mounds or a couple of miles east of them, and, pursuing quite a devious course through the townships of Primrose, Washington and Monroe, it crosses the State line in the town of Jefferson. This ridge is characterized by a much greater want of uniformity in its general course and its very irregular elevation. It is mucli narrower than either of the others, more abrupt in its slopes, and contains quite a number of hills and low places. These are the principal elevations of the country affecting the drainage. There are, of course, many minor ones.

" iStreams. - The present situation of the streams was probably never modified nor influenced by drift or glacial agencies. Premising this, it follows that the location of the streams must have depended upon the natural configuration of the country and the superior advantages of certain strata in certain positions predisposing them to become the beds of streams. Other things being equal, surface waters would naturally form a channel first in the more soft and easily erosible strata lying along the line of strike of some soft formation, and would cause a river to conform its first channel to its outcropping edge. Simultaneously, its tributaries would shape their channels approximately at right angles to the river, under the following conditions : When the general slope or drainage of the country is not contrary to the geological dip of the formations, which, in the lead region, does not appear to have been the case, the tributaries on one side of the river thus formed would conform themselves to the natural dip of the underlying strata, sloping toward the main river, and would be found wherever there were depressions or irregularities in the surface suitable to their formation. These would, at their inception, approximate to their final length and course, and future changes in them would be confined to the deeper erosion of their beds and widening of their valleys, the formation of lateral branches, the division of the head of the stream into several smaller sources, and, finally, the gradual recession of all the subordinate parts.

" With the tributaries on the other side of the principal river, a different order would prevail as regards their position and growth. They would at first be the merest rivulets, and increase only from erosion, and their beds would lie across the edges of the strata. There would be only a very limited extent of country tributary to the river on this side, the great volume of its water being derived from the tributaries of the other side. The dividing ridge would thus be very near the river, and a second set of long streams tributary to some other river would here take their rise and flow away.

"In the process of time the main river would slowly cut its way through the soft formation, in which it had its original bed, into and through those which underlaid it. This might, at first, be accompanied by a slight recession parallel to the line of strike. Such a movement, however, could not be of long duration, but would become less as the valley became deeper, because any such recession would necessitate the removal of all the overlying formations. Finally, the small streams flowing across the strata would cut their valley back from the river, the dividing ridge would recede, and their sources would, from the position of the strata, be in steep and precipitous ravines. Such, in brief, is the theory of the formation of the streams in the lead region.

" The Wisconsin River, from the eastern limit of Iowa County to its mouth, is a conspicuous example and illustration of the foregoing theory.

'-Although the surface of the country, in its present condition, does not permit the accurate delineation of the former lines of outcrop of the paleozoic formations, yet a sufficient number of others remain to show that they must once have covered the country far north of where they are at present found. The existence of Niagara limestone in a thickness of about one hundred and forty feet at the Platte Mounds, and probably the full thickness of the formation at the Blue Mounds, warrants us in supposing that the former outcrop of the underlying Cincinnati group was at least as far north as the present bed of the Wisconsin River.

"The valley now occupied by the river, from Mazomanie to Blue River, is very nearly that of the present line of strike of the Lower Silurian formation, and, although from there the strike of the lower members (of which outliers still remain) appears to bear rather more to the northward, yet observations on the dip of the Cincinnati group, in such occasional outliers as remain, lead us to believe that its original strike was approximately in a southwesterly direction, from Blue River to the Mississippi.

"Assuming, then, that the Cincinnati group once had its northern outcrop where the river now runs, or in a line parallel to it in that vicinity, the surface waters would easily erode a channel in the soft and friable shales which, to a great extent, compose this formation.

"In fine, the whole process of formation previously described would take place. On the north side it had, as now its principal tributary streams, the Kickapoo, Knapp, Eagle, Pine and Bear, in their present localities, and approximately their present length. On the south side of the river, however, the principal water-shed already referred to was probably quite near the river, from which position it has receded to the place it now occupies. The Green and Blue Rivers and Otter, Mill and Blue Mound Creeks were small and insignificant streams, which, by the gradual process of erosion, have increased to their present size and length ; but even now are small when compared to the northern tributaries.

"A further eifect was to shorten the Grant, Platte and Pecatonica Rivers by the gradual southwesterly recession of the water-shed and the lowering of the latter by the denudation of the Niagara limestone and Cincinnati groups ; except in such localities as were protected by a superior hardness of some part of the formation, as in the case of the Blue Mounds.

"The result of the denudation has been to divide the country into two parts, each differing widely from the other in its topographical features. The streams flowing southward from the water-shed have eroded the country into gently undulating slopes. This is probably due to the direction of the streams conforming in a measure to the dip of the strata. Abrupt cliffs and steep ravines are the exception, and not the rule, never being found in the immediate neighborhood of the water-shed, but rather confined to the small lateral branches. On the other hand, to the north of the water-shed the panorama of bluffs and precipitous ravines is almost mountainous in its aspect. In fact, nothing can be more striking than the contrast which presents itself from certain points on the divide in looking from north to south. In nearly all of the ravines leading northward the fall of the first quarter of a mile is not less than one hundred feet: and, in general, it is true of the streams running northward that three-quarters of the fall takes place in the first quarter of the distance from their sources to their mouths.

" It seems not improbable that these sudden declivities are due to the streams flowing over the edges of the strata, rather than lengthwise, along their dip. Again, the streams flowing to the southward become comparatively sluggish in their course as soon as they cease to be brooks. They have usually a soft, muddy bottom, while those tributary to the Wisconsin are clear, rapid streams, flowing over a sandy or gravelly bottom, their valleys being narrow and their sides very steep.

" The streams tributary to the Platte, Grant and Pecatonica Rivers do not exhibit any marked characteristics on one side that are not shared equally by the other. It may be remarked, however, that the short streams which flow into the Mississippi River present very much the same topographical characteristics as are seen in the southern tributaries of the Wisconsin, narrow and deep ravines and valleys being apparently the rule in Grant County.

" It is remarked that there has been a gradual diminution of water in the lead region since the early mining days. The larger streams contain much less water than heretofore, within the memory of living men. It is probable that cultivation of the land is the chief cause of this decrease, as a much greater amount of surface is thus exposed, and evaporation takes place more rapidly and in larger quantities. Removal of the timber is, without doubt, another cause of this decrease. The soil of the timbered land contains more moisture than that of the prairie ; and in all countries the removal of the timber has always been followed by a marked decrease of the water supply.

and Wells. - Tlie Lead Region is one of the best watered tracts of country in the State. Springs are very numerous about the sources of streams, and frequently in their banks. They are found in all the geological formations, but with the gi'eatest frequency and of the largest size between the bottom of the Galena limestone and the top of the St. Peters sandstone. Such springs are usually found flowing along the surface of some layer of clay, and finding a vent in the outcrop of an ' opening.' The clay openings most favorable to their formation are the ' upper pipe-clay openings,' situated on the top of the blue or Trenton limestone, and separating it from the Galena limestone; the ' glass-rock opening,' separating the blue and underlying buff limestone, and the 'lower pipe-clay opening,' situated in the lower part of the buff limestone; the latter, however, does not seem to be so persistent a bed as the other two. Springs are by no means confined to these three openings, but occur in many of the beds of the Galena limestone, as well as in the lower formations ; usually, however, flowing over an impervious bed of clay, or some layer of rock, too compact to admit of the passage of water through it."

The springs which flow from the Blue Mounds are clearly not of igneous origin, as they are not hot, but are logically accounted for by the excess of rainfall over the amount of water carried off by the streams or by evaporation.

" Nearly all the water in the region holds in solution a small portion of lime and magnesia, and a still smaller quantity of sodium, iron, alumina and silica. The presence of these salts usually gives the water what is called a hard taste, which is more noticeable in the limestone than in the sandstone springs, and not infrequently induces persons to believe them possessed of medical properties.

" Prairie and Forest. - The prairie area of the lead region is comparatively small, and seems to be chiefly a continuation of the great prairies of Illinois. The most extensive prairie is that found in the southern part of Grant and La Fayette Counties, comprising the townships of Jamestown, Hazel Green, Benton, Xew Diggings, Shullsburg, Seymour. Monticello and Gratiot. From this there is a branch extending in a northwestern direction (corresponding to the eastern subdivision of the water-shed previously alluded to), until it unites with the main water-shed ; here .it branches to the east and west. The western extension forms a prairie in the towns of Glen Haven, Patch Grove, Little Grant, and some parts of Fennimore and Wingville. The eastern prairie follows the main divide already described, the prairie being from six to ten miles in width. Between the east and west branches of the Pecatonica there is a prairie, including most of the towns of Fayette, Waldwick and Wiota. Small patches of prairie are to be found in other localities. The original timber of the woodland has been mostly cut off, and is replaced by second-growth black, white and burr oak, maple, hickory, poplar and elm, the trees being generally of small size, not exceeding one foot in diameter.

" Mounds. - The elevations in the lead region most worthy of note are : The Platte Mounds, in La Fayette County : the Blue Mounds, in Dane and Iowa Counties, and the Sinsinawa Mound, in Grant County. The former are three in number, about a mile apart, the middle one being very small in comparison to the other two. The east and west mounds are about the same elevation, and are capped with a very hard Xiagara limestone, to which they doubtless owe their preservation, in the general denudation of the country. The ground slopes away from them so gently, and blends so gradually Avith the surrounding high land, that it is impossible to define exactly where the mound proper begins. The Blue Mounds are two in number, one being in Iowa County and the other in Dane. The top of the west mound (which is the higher of the two) consist of over a hundred feet of very hard flinty rock, somewhat resembling quartzite, or granular quartz ; below this is the Xiagara limestone. This cap of quartz rock seems to have been removed from the east mound, the top of which is a flat table-land under cultivation. These mounds are very conspicuous, and can be seen from any moderately high land in the region. The Sinsinawa Mound is also a very conspicuous object, in the southern part of Grant County, near the village of Fairplay. It is composed, for the most part, of the Cincinnati group, capped with a small amount of Niagara limestone.

" iSitiJcs. - Very remarkable features in the vicinity of Blue Mounds are the numerous sinkholes found near their base, and frequently quite high up on their sides. The sinks are usually in groups of three or four, and invariably in nearly an east and west line, in both Dane and Iowa Counties. On the center line of Section 1, Township 6, Range 5 east, is a well-defined line of them, extending for about a quarter of a mile on each side of the center of the section. There is another range of them near the center of the southwest quarter of Section 1, and a third line near the quarter-posts of Sections 1 and 12. The largest of these sinks is an isolated one near the center of the southeast quarter of Section 1, which is as much as fifty feet in diameter and twenty feet deep. In this one the wall rock of the fissure could be very planly seen on the south side. The difference is that these sinks mark the line of large open crevices in the rock beneath them. No prospecting for ore has been done in them, although the suggestion has been reasonably made that the indications are favorable. The sinks are not confined to the Galena limestone, and an exceptional one in the St. Peters sandstone is noted on the southeast quarter of Section 14, Township 5, Range 2 west, although less notable ones occur in the Niagara limestone.

and Subsoil. - The quality of the soil of the lead region is chiefly dependent on the character of the subjacent formation. The subsoil appears to be derived directly from the decay and disintegration of the strata, of which it is the residuum. South of the principal water-shed, the subsoil is clay, almost without exception, having a thickness of from three to six feet, depending on the configuration of the underlying rock formation. This is the average thickness, on comparatively level land ; on side hills it is usually much thinner, the greater part having been washed down in the valley below. The clay soils and subsoils appear to consist chiefly of those portions of the overlying Galena limestone, and earthy Cincinnati shales, which being insoluble in water were not removed by the gradual process of denudation.

" The amount of lime, magnesia and alkaline earths in the subsoil and soil, together with the vegetable mold in the latter, constitute a soil, which, in its virgin state, is unsurpassed for rich - ness and fertility. The number of successive wheat crops which have been raised, without regard to rotation, on some of our prairie farms, attest its native strength ; as, also, the marked decline in fertility of the soil when this has been done, shows the inevitable retribution which follows the practice. Exceptions to the clay soil, usually found in the country covered by the Galena limestone, are found in the eastern part of La Fayette and frequently in Green County, where the soil is quite sandy, owing to the disintegration of calcareous sand layers frequently found there in that formation. A few localities are cited below, where the sand was so abundant that the formation might have been considered a sandstone, were it not for the occasional outcrops of Galena limestone in place.

" The agencies of the glacial period do not appear to have had anything to do with transporting the component meterials of the soil, and although a slight transportation has taken place, it is always merely local. For instance, in the valleys of the creeks which lie in the St. Peters sandstone, the soil is usually a rich clay loam, richer in fact than that of the adjacent ridges, because the best parts of the upland soils have been washed down and distributed over the surface of the valley.

" A similar transportation may be observed in passing up any long and moderately steep hill, which includes several formations, such hills being very common north of the principal watershed. Let us suppose one, whose summit is composed of Galena limestone, and whose base lies in the Lower Magnesian. Scattered about the base will be seen many loose pieces of Lower Magnesian limestone, mixed with less numerous bowlders of St. Peters sandstone ; still less numerous and smaller pieces of the buff and blue (Trenton) limestone, while fragments of the Galena limestone will be comparatively rare. On ascending the hill and arriving at the St. Peters, fragments of Lower Magnesian will no longer be seen, while those of the upper formation will become larger and more numerous. On arriving at the buff limestone, the fragments of St. Peters sandstone will also have disappeared ; fragments of blue limestone will be very numerous and easily recognized by their white color and their general rounded and worn appearance. On reaching the summit of the hill, no fragments of stone will be found, except such as are derived from, the subjacent Galena limestone. One prominent feature of the soil will be the prevalence of flints, which are nearly indestructible, and often form a large component part. From the arrangement of the surface soil and fragmentary rock, it is evident that the rock of any formation is never found above the level from which it was detached.

History Of The Lead Region

" Brick Clay. - Clay suitable for making brick is found in many parts of the lead region, Mineral Point being one of the important localities. The clay sought is usually of a t^rayish yellow color which becomes red on burning. It appears to have been formed in the same manner as other portions of the soil, as already described. The origin of the clay of which the brick are made is a matter of some doubt. It has not exactly the appearance of a drift clay, and if not, its situation indicates that it must have undergone some subsequent re-arrangement/'

The Lead Region Described From Moses Strong'S Report

Boundaries and Area. - In Wisconsin, the lead region may be said to be bounded on the north by the northern outcrop of the Galena limestone, running parallel to the main water-shed from the Mississippi to the Blue Mounds, as already described ; on the west by the Mississippi River ; on the south by the State line ; on the east by Sugar River. These limits include all of the lead region which has ever been productive, as well as much that has never as yet proved so. The area thus included, which has been, or may hereafter become, productive, is necessarily that of the Galena limestone, which is about 1,776 square miles.

Explanation of Mining Terms. - For the enlightenment of the readers who are unfamiliar with mining terms, the following short explanation of expressions, most frequently used in the lead region, is offered.

Range. - This is probably the most indefinite term in use, and, at the same time, one which is universally applied. First. A range denotes a single, or several, parallel crevices, containing useful ores or minerals ; vertical, or approximately so ; seldom more than a few yards apart ; sometimes, but not necessarily, connected by quartering crevices. Its length may vary from a few hundred feet to a quarter of a mile or more ; in short, so far as the crevice or crevices have been connectedly traced, or there is a reasonable probability of such connection. Thus, different parts of the same range often have different names given them before the connection between them is proved. This is a fruitful source of confusion. Second. The term range is also applied to horizontal bodies of ore, of which there may be one, or several, superimposed upon one another ; sometimes, but not necessarily, separated by unproductive layers of rock, limited in length in the same way as a vertical range.

Crevice. - This term denotes a fissure in the rock, vertical or nearly so, but a few inches in width, of indefinite length, which may or may not be filled with ores or minerals. When a crevice becomes very small, less than an inch in width, it is called a seam.

Lode or Lead are words usually substituted for vein ; they are. however, generally applied to ore deposits found either in crevices or openings.

Openings. - They are of two kinds, vertical and horizontal. First. Vertical openings are known as crevice openings, which are mere enlargements of the crevice in certain parts, these being sometimes co-extensive with the vein in length, and sometimes mere local enlargements. There are in the same crevice frequently several openings, situated one above the other, separated by beds of unproductive rock. Crevices vary in width from one to several feet. When very wide and high, they are sometimes called tumbling openings. Second. Horizontal openings are large, irregular spaces between the strata which contain the lode. Such openings are usually from one to four feet high, and are frequently superimposed upon one another, separated by an unproductive rock, called a "cap." The "cap " of one opening being frequently the " floor " of the one above it.

Chimneys are irregularly shaped vertical holes found in crevices ; sometimes connecting openings, and at others extending from the surface of the ground to some particular stratum of rock.

Sheet. - This is a term usually employed to designate a solid body of ore, exclusive of other minerals, which may fill a crevice or opening. A sheet is said to " pitch " when it inclines considerably from the perpendicular.

Bar. - The term denotes a band or belt, of very hard and unproductive rock, crossing the crevices and sheets. In crossing a bar, all sheets become less productive, and are sometimes entirely lost, the crevices usually dwindling to mere seams. Their width varies from a few feet to many yards.

Mineralogy

There does not appear to have been any absolute and unvarying order in which the minerals of the lead region were deposited in the mines. The following conclusions are derived from the inspection of the ore as it occurs in place in the numerous mines visited, and from the examination of a great number of specimens ; and it is assumed that when crystals of one mineral are coated or covered with another, the overlying one is the more recent. The minerals appear to have been deposited in the following general order :

Azurite

The order above given, however, is subject to very numerous and important exceptions, and is more particularly applicable to crystallized specimens than to heavy ore deposits. Large bodies of ore frequently consist of galentine, sphalerite and pyrite, so mingled together that no order of deposition can be ascertained.

In general, it appears that the sulphurets of the metals were deposited first, and that the carbonates have been generally, if not invariably derived from them. Carbonate of lead (cerussite), when found crystallized, always occurs in connection with galenite ; and carbonate of zinc (Smithsonite) is so frequently found graduating into the sulphuret (sphalerite) as to leave but little doubt of^ its origin from that mineral.

It seems not improbable that the formation of the carbonate of zinc may even now be taking place in the ground to quite a large extent, especially in such deposits as are not below the water-level, or are only periodically submerged.

It is a well-known fact that the drybone diggings are usually comparatively free from water, and that the zinc ore below the water-level is usually blende (sphalerite) with but little admixture of the carbonate. As the level of the water in the ground becomes gradually lower, and it is a well known fact that it does, the atmosphere, together with surface water charged with carbonic acid, is permitted to act upon the blende, and a transformation from the sulphuret to the carbonate is the result.

The association of calcite with other minerals is such as to indicate that it must have been formed in crystals during at least two different periods. Stalactites of recent origin are found in the mines, which on being fractured show a distinct crystalline structure, and large planes of cleavage.

The following is a list of the minerals known to occur in the lead region, arranged according to the system adopted by Prof. Dana, in his " Mineralogy : "

Suliphur. - Native sulphur is found, but seldom in the lead region ; its presence is usually due to the decomposition of iron pyrites. It is usually found in a pulverulent form. Some pieces weighing as much as an ounce were seen in a cabinet at Hazel Green, which are said to have been obtained from a small sheet in some of the Buncome mines. It is said to be not uncommon in this vicinity. Other localities where it is found are Mineral Point and the Crow Branch diggings.

Bornite. - Variegated or purple copper ore. Composition - Copper, 62.5; iron, 13.8; sulphur, 23.7. This is quite a rare mineral. A few pieces have been found in the copper diggings near Mineral Point ; it has never been found here crystallized, but always massive and in small pieces.

G-alenite. - Composition - Lead, 86.6 ; sulphur, 13.4. This is the only ore of lead found in sufficient quantities to be of economic value. It is universally known in the lead region as " mineral." It frequently occurs in distinct crystals, either as a cube or some modification of it. Octahedral crystals are quite rare, but are occasionally found, especially in the carbonaceous shale of the southern part of the region. Usually, however, galenite occurs massive, with a very distinct cleavage. Freshly broken surfaces have always a bright steel color, which speedily tarnishes on exposure to the air.

Sphalerite. - Blende or black-jack. Composition - Zinc, 67 ; sulphur, 33. This is one of the most abundant minerals in the lead region, besides being of great economic value as an ore of zinc. It is almost invariably found as an associate vein-mineral in the horizontal deposits of lead ore. It is usually found massive and compact, of a dark-brown or black color, due to a small portion of iron contained in it, and more or less mixed with gelanite. The lead region has never afforded a perfect crystal of blende, although many specimens are found with small and imperfect crystalline faces. The fractured surfaces of such specimens usually have a resinous luster.

Pyrite. - Composition - Iron, 46.7; sulphur, 53.3. This is the most common vein-mineral found in the mines. It is universally met with in veins, lodes or other deposits of ore, and in many cases impregnates the rock when all other minerals are absent. In crevices it frequently appears to have been the first mineral deposited. It is usually found massive, although handsome crystallized specimens are frequently obtained from the mines. In crystals it usually assumes some modification of the cube, the octahedron being quite frequent. It also occurs in radiated and reniform masses. It has never yet been considered of any economic value in the lead region, and as it is so much mi^ed with rock it is doubtful if it could be profitably separated, except by the natural process of disintegration, to which some varieties are liable when exposed to the air. The Crow Branch diggings and the Linden mines afford large quantities and good specimens of this mineral.

Marcasite. - Composition - Iron, 46.7 ; sulphur 53.3, or same as pyrite. The difference between this and the preceding is but slight, and chiefly due to crystalline structure; the former belonging to the mono-metric and the latter to the trimetric system. It is somewhat lighter colored than pyrite, and decomposes more readily in the air. It is quite a common vein mineral, and occurs in globular and cockcomb shapes. It is abundant in the New Diggings district. It is diflficult to preserve specimens of this mineral, longer than a few months.

Qhalcopyrite. - Composition - Copper. 34.6 ; iron, 30.5 ; sulphur, 34.9. This is the principal ore of copper in the lead regions, and is most abundantly found in the vicinity of Mineral Point. It usually occurs massive, frequently mixed with pyrite ; small and indistinct crystals are occasionally found.

Hematite. - Composition - Iron, 70; oxygen 30. Impure arenaceous varieties of this mineral frequently occur, nowhere, however, sufficiently rich or abundant to be of any economic value. It seems to be chiefly due to the decomposition of pyrite, and is most common as the ferruginous sandstone concretions in the upper beds of the St. Peters. It is also frequently found as ocher, with other vein-minerals, especially in the flat openings.