White Oak Springs Town (part 2 of 3)

Bennett ^ Co. - This party is engaged in mining and prospecting about a quarter of a mile east of the preceding diggings. Near the corner of Towns 4 and 5, Ranges 2 and 3 east, are a number of ranges which have been worked for many years. Those situated on Section 1 are the property of the Mineral Point Mining Company ; those on the adjacent sections are the property of Mr. John J. Ross. There are six principal crevices, running nearly parallel, on Sections 33 and 1. Their general course is south 70° east, and on entering Section 6, they run nearly east and west. The crevices lead down to the opening between the buff" and blue limestones, known as the glass-rock opening. The ore here is found in a flat sheet, about a foot thick and from seventy to one hundred and forty feet wide, which has been worked for a distance of half a mile. The ores are galenite and blende, and occur associated with baryte, and have to be separated before reduction. The mode of drainage in Mr. Ross' mine is somewhat peculiar ; shafts were sunk at intervals to a distance of eight feet below the opening, into the buff" limestone, where abed is reached through which the water readily passes away. This mode of drainage was accidentally discovered in prospecting for the sheet. No ore of any consequence is found in the upper pipe-clay opening ; occasional bunches have been found, probably not over 20,000 pounds in all. These ranges have been worked at intervals for the last forty years by various parties. Active opei'ations were commenced by Mr. Ross about ten years ago, since which time his ground has produced about 2,500,000 pounds of lead ore, and about 3,500 tons of zinc ores. During the whole time in which these mines have been worked, it is safe to say they have produced not less than 8,000,000 pounds of lead ore, and twice as much zinc ores. During the winter of 1874-75, ore to the value of $1,600 was produced.

During the winter of 1875-76, $1,000 worth of ore was produced. On the lands of the Mineral Point Mining Company, several parties are working on tribute. The amount this ground is producing could not be ascertained.

Goldsworthy cf Brother. - These diggings are situated on Lots 279 and 280 of Harrison's survey, about a quarter of a mile east of the preceding, and on the northwest quarter of Section 6, Town 4, Range 3 east. This is known as the Barber range, and has been worked in the winter seasons during the last six years. The ore is Smithsonite, much mixed with pyrites ; it is found in the upper pipe-clay opening, in a flat sheet from eight to thirty feet wide, and from eighteen to twenty-four inches thick, being most productive in crossing crevices. About twenty tons per year is produced here.

T. Lutey cj- Co. - This party is working a short distance east of the preceding, on land owned by M. M. Cothren. They have been working in a continuation of the Barber range for about two months (October and November, 1876), and have now a very good prospect. Most of the lead ore from the Barber Range is obtained from the glass-rock opening, but it never has been worked for zinc ore.

SutJiers cf Co. - Situated on the southeast part of Harrison's survey. This is a nearly eastand-west range, known as the " Walla Walla," and has been worked by the present party since 1865. The range is about 120 feet wide, and has been worked in the glass-rock opening to a length of about 1,000 feet, and at a depth of seventy-three below the surface. The mine produces lead ore and both kinds of zinc ore. The average annual product of lead ore is about 44,000 pounds. The products from January to April, 1876, of all kinds of ore were valued at $900.

J. Arthur ^ Co. - Situated on the southwest quarter Section 6, Township 4, Range 3 east. This is an east-and-west range, discovered about two years since, and worked continuously to the present. The ores are Smithsonite and lead ore found in a flat sheets, from six inches to one foot thick, in the glass-rock opening, at a depth of sixty feet from the surface. The range is about one hundred feet wide. It is situated on land owned by Mr. J. J Ross. The ground is comparatively dry.

Roare Bros. - Situated about fifty yards east of the preceding, and on the same range, in land owned by Mr. J. Hoare. This party has been working here about two years, producing lead ore and Smithsonite from the glass-rock opening. The diggings are now very good.

Nichols ^ Holmes. - Situated on northeast quarter Section 7, Township 4, Range 3 east, a short distance east of the old zinc works. There are some irregular flat sheets of zinc ore in the glass-rock opening, about twenty feet deep. They have been worked during the last two years, and have produced considerable zinc ore.

Harris ^ Lang. - These diggings are situated about half a mile south of the preceding. This is an east-and-west range, situated in the glass-rock opening, about twenty-five feet deep. It has been worked about a year, producing considerable zinc ore. In the vicinity of the Mineral Point Town Hall, on the northwest quarter of Section 5, Township 4, Range 3 east, are the following diggings :

Prideaux ^ Henry. - This is a north-and-south range, about 200 yards south of the Town Hall, which has been worked by the present party since 1866. The ores are lead and zinc, found in flat and pitching sheets, from eight to ten inches thick, in the upper pipe-clay opening, at a depth of from one to sivty feet below the surface. The range is from sixty to seventy feet wide, and has been worked to a distance of 350 feet.

Jeffrey ^ Bro. - Situated about one hundred yards south of the preceding, and probably on the same range. The range is here one hundred feet wide, and produces lead ore and both kinds of zinc ore in about equal quantities, and considerable iron pyrites. The work has been chiefly done in the winter season during the last two years.

Manhey §- Son. - Situated about 150 yards southeast of Jeffrey & Bro. They have been working during the last twelve years in a north-and-south range. The product is lead ore, found in vertical crevices, and in flat sheets in the green-rock opening, at a depth of forty feet from the surface. All the diggings in this hill are dry, and most of them are remunerative, but the amounts of ore produced could not be ascertained. The mining land is owned by Messrs. Henry Goad, Prideaux & Woodman. About a quarter of a mile north of this ridge is the Mineral Point Hill, lying directly east of the city. The following parties are mining there :

Short cf- Foster. - Situated about 200 yards west of Jeffrey & Bro., on an old north-andsouth range, sixty feet in width. They have been working during the last two years in the winter season, producing lead and zinc ores from the pipe-clay opening. The diggings are about forty feet deep.

Vivian ^ Sleep. - This party is working a nearly east-and-west range, the most southerly of several parallel ranges which cross the hill. The range is about fifty feet wide, and produces zinc ores, chiefly Smithsonite, from the upper pipe-clay opening, which is here about twenty-five feet below the surface. They have been working here during the last thirteen years, operating during the entire year.

Brown ^ Qluthers. - They have been mining about a year on a parallel range 150 feet north of the one last mentioned. The range is about fifty feet wide, and produces zinc ores, chiefly blende. The ore is found in flat and pitching sheets in the pipe-clay opening.

James Dunn ^ Son. - This party has been working about three years on a range 150 feet north of the preceding. Both kinds of zinc ores are produced from the upper pipe-clay opening, which lies here about forty feet deep. -

Trewilla ^ Strong. - This party has worked about eight years in this vicinity and one and a half on their present range, producing zinc ores.

Groldsworthy ^ Hocks. - Situated about one-fourth of a mile east of Vivian & Sleep. They have been mining about a year, producing blende. The mining land in this hill is owned by Messrs. Hutchinson, Henry, Curry, Gundry and Washburn. The ranges all bear a little north of west and south of east, and have never been worked below the upper pipe-clay opening. The earliest mining in this vicinity was done in the Mineral Point Hill. The ranges were formerly very productive, and have been worked continuously for many years to the present time. There are a few other parties mining with in a few miles of Mineral Point. They are as follows :

Rogers ^ Mankey. - Situated on the northeast quarter of Section 8, Township 4, Range 3 east, on land owned by Mr. Suthers, near Rock Branch. This is a new discovery, made in October, 1876, being a flat sheet of Smithsonite in the brown-rock opening.

'Jeffrey ^ May. - Situated a short distance north of the preceding. This is also a new discovery, made about the same time as the preceding, being a flat sheet of zinc ores in the glassrock opening. The prospect is very good.

Badcroft Diggings. - Section 15, Township 4, Range 3 east. Work was begun here in 1872, and has been continued at intervals since. A small amount of lead ore has been produced. The ore is found in flat and pitching sheets in the pipe-clay opening, about twenty feet below the surface.

Shepard cf Co. - Situated on the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 22, Township 4, Range 2 east. Work was commenced here in August, 1876, on the old Maloney range. This range has a general east-and-west course, and yields lead ore and blende from the pipe-clay opening, which is here about twenty-five feet deep. The ore occurs in flat sheets from four to five inches thick, the blende forming the top and bottom of the sheet, and lead ore the central part. The product has been, to December, 1876, lead ore, 1,500 pounds ; blende, three tons. The ground is dry, and the prospect considered good.

Qlehenstein Diggings. - They are situated on the same ridge, and a short distance east of the preceding. They are now operated by August Cain, who has been mining about a year. They were operated from 1865 to 1875 by Mrs. Clebenstein, and produced large amounts of lead and zinc ores. The ore was found in flat sheets, in the pipe-clay and glass-rock openings.

H. Joseph's Diggings. - Situated on the west half of the southwest quarter of Section 5, Township 4, Range 3 east. Mining was commenced here in 1871, and continued until the fall of 1874, when it was discontinued on account of water. The ore found here was exclusively blende, which occurred in a flat sheet in the green-rock opening. The width of the sheet was about eighty feet, its greatest thickness three feet, and it was worked for a distance of 800 feet. The greatest depth below the surface is seventy feet. During the years 1873-74, this ground produced about one thousand tons of blende.

Diamond Grove Diggings. - These diggings are situated on Sections 25 and 26, Township 5, Range 2 east. They produce chiefly zinc ores, found in flat sheets in the pipe clay and glassrock openings. The following parties are now mining here.

Cain ^ Bead. - Situated on the northwest quarter of Section 25. This party has been working on the Rodersdorf range during the winters of 1873-74, 1874-75. The ore, which is Smithsonite, is found in the glass-rock opening, in a range from sixteen to twenty feet wide, and two hundred feet long. The production during the first season was seventeen and one-half tons ; in the second season, twenty tons.

Robert Oonley ^ Sons. - Situated on the southwest quarter of Section 25. Mining has been carried on here by the above party during the last ten years, on an east-and-west range. Both kinds of zinc ore and lead ore are found here, in the pipe-clay and glass-rock openings, but chiefly in the latter. The range is from forty to sixty feet wide, and has been worked a distance of one hundred and fifty yards. During the last year and a half, the product of lead ore has been 60,000 pounds, and 60 tons of zinc ore during the last two years.

Biddick Diggings. - A valuable deposit of lead ore has lately been discovered on the southwest quarter of Section 24, Township 5, Range 2 east. Four flat sheets, from one to four inches thick, are found here, situated above one another in the upper pipe-clay opening. It has not yet been sufficiently worked to determine its actual extent.

Martin Bros, cf Cramer. - Situated on the southwest quarter of Section 25. This and the preceding one are on land owned by Mr. James Spensley. They have been mining here on an east-and-west range, which was discovered two years since. The ore is Smithsonite, and is found in the glass-rock opening, which is here from ten to thirty feet deep.

Spensley ^^ Brown. - situated on the northeast quarter of Section 26, Township 5, Range 2 east. Men have been employed since July, 1876, driving an adit in the glass-rock opening. The adit is 200 feet long, and drains an east-and-west range. The product has been : Lead ore, 36,000 pounds ; blende, 6 tons.

Opir ^ Lancaster. - Situated on the northwest quarter of Section 26. This party is working the same range, 450 yards west of the preceding. It is here known as the Lancaster range, and has been worked by the present party about a year. The product has been 150 tons of blende. It is worked by an adit.

McDermott (|' Co. - Mining has been carried on here by Mr. McDermott for about twentysix years, in the McShane & Gray range. The ore is found in flat and pitching sheets, in crevices and crevice-openings in the Galena limestone, above the flat openings. The diggings now produce lead and zinc ore. The average annual product is about thirty thousand pounds.

Schlosser ^ Co. - This party has been working four or five years on the east end of the same range as the preceding. The ground is dry, and the lead ore is found about forty feet below the surface. The average annual product is about ton thousand pounds.

William tf Thomas Thrasher. - This party has been working in this vicinity about fifteen years, on a parallel range, situated about a quarter of a mile southeast of Schlosser k Co. The product is chiefly lead ore.

Lost Grove Diggings. - These diggings are situated on land owned by Mr. J. J. Ross, on Section 33, Township 5, Range 2 east. Mining is confined here to the winter season. The ground is dry, and the ore is found in flat sheets in the glass-rock opening. The following parties are mining here :

Rigger <f Arthur. - This party has been working two years in an east-and-west range, producing lead ore and Smithsonite. The range varies from twenty-five to fifty feet in width.

Olayton Jr Oo. - Situated about a quarter of a mile northwest of the preceding. Have been working during the last twelve years on the Jim Brown range. This is an east"and-west range, from fifty to sixty feet wide, and lying about seventy feet below the surface, producing exclusively lead ore. The product has been about twenty thousand pounds per annum.

G-arden ^ Son. - Situated about one-fourth of a mile south of the preceding. They have been working about two years, and have produced about |400 worth of ore.

Robert Brown ^ Oo. - Situated about half a mile east of Clayton & Co., and on the same range. The diggings here are from twenty-five to fifty feet deep. They have been working about three years, and have produced about thirty thousand pounds per annum.

Calamine Distkict

There are several tracts of land situated in Sections 18 and 19, Township 3, Range 3 east, which were formerly quite productive, but little work is now done on them. They are situated on the left side of the Pecatonica River, on the ridge which separates the Wood and Bonner Branches. The ridge slopes abruptly on all sides, but one toward the various streams Avhich nearly inclose it. On the summit of the ridge there is a thickness of about one hundred feet of Galena limestone, underlaid by about fifty feet of the blue and buff" limestones, below which is the sandstone. All these formations may be distinctly seen in passing from the summit of the ridge to the valley of the Pecatonica. During the winter of 1876-77, some mining was done here by Mr. Charles Mappes, of Belmont, on an east-and-west range, lying from thirty to forty feet below the surface. Four men were employed, working on a flat sheet of blende and galenite. The amount produced could not be ascertained. Some Smithsonite is also produced in this vicinity.

Yellowstone Diggings., Pierce cf Son. - Some work has been done here during the winter seasons of the last three years, in a range a quarter of a mile north of the New Kirk range, situated on the southwest quarter of Section 14, Township 4, Range 4 east. The lead ore is found in a vertical sheet in a crevice opening about fourteen feet below the surface.

In the winter of 1874-75 the product was 18,000 pounds, and in the following winter about one thousand eight hundred pounds. No mining is done here in the summer.

Wiota District

This is a small group of east-and-west ranges, crossed by north-and-south crevices, situated on the northwest quarter of Section 19, Township 2, Range 5 east. But very little mining is done here ; the annual production of the whole district does not exceed 40,000 pounds. The ore is lead, occurring in the middle portion of the Galena limestone, and there does not seem to be any regular opening. There are several parties here, among whom the principal ones are as follows :

Purcell ^ Harden. - They are at work in the old Hamilton Diggings, removing the pillars from the old workings, wBich were abandoned many years since. They are unable to go any deeper, or make any new discoveries, on account of the water, which is here quite plentiful. The ground is owned by the Ridgeway Mining Company, of Madison. Messrs. Purcell & Harder have worked here two years, and during that time have produced 20,000 pounds of lead ore.

Smith cj- Anderso7i. - Situated a short distance north of the preceding, and from the northern part of the Hamilton Diggings. This does not appear to form any regular range. The ore occurs in east-and-west sheets, in very hard rock, and seldom in openings. The diggings have now been worked since January, 1873, and have produced 80,000 pounds.

Copper In The Lead Region

The last mining for copper in this region was done at Mineral Point from 1873 to 1876. Mr. James Toay is authority for the following sketch of the work in past years: " Sometime in 1837-38, copper was discovered on the southeast quarter of Section 32, Township 5 north, Range 3 east, one mile northeast of the Mineral Point Court House. The crevice had a course south 85° east, and was traced for over one-third of a mile. The locality has not been worked since 1842. A great amount of copper was obtained. Some of the ore was smelted by William Kendall & Co. Sometime in 1844, S. P. Preston came to the region and went into partnership with Kendall & Co. Two other furnaces have been worked ; one by Charles Bracken and one by Curtiss Beach."

For a detailed statement of the statistics of the amount and kinds of ore raised prior to 1877, reference is made to the State Geological Report of 1877.

Settlement Of The Lead Region

A brief narrative of the settlement of the lead region is necessary to a complete understanding of the growth which eventuated in the formation of Iowa, La Fayette and Grant Counties.

In the general history of the State, which precedes these pages, can be found a sketch of the several explorations of the Wisconsin River, or rather the fact that they were used as avenues for the still further exploration of the Mississippi Valley during the seventeenth century. Those rapid journeys cannot be considered as bearing upon the subsequent selection of this region by white men, save in so far as they made known the existence of a habitable section, and one which contained valuable mineral deposits as well as fertile agricultural lands.

The First Explorer

Nicholas Perrot is said to have discovered lead in this region during his visit here in 1692, but this assertion is not proved by his written statements concerning his trip.

Probably the first explorer of what is called the lead district, including Dubuque County, Iowa, and Jo Daviess County, 111., was Le Sueur, a French trader, who, on the 25th of August, 1700, while on an expedition to the Sioux on St. Peter's River, now in Minnesota, discovered a small river entering the Mississippi on the east side, which he named " The River of the Mines." He describes it as a small river running from the north, but turning to the east, and he further says that " a few miles up this river is a lead mine." Le Sueur was unquestionably the first white man who trod the banks of Fever (Galena) River. He visited lead mines which were then known to and probably operated in a crude manner by the Indians.

Whatever may have been done in the way of mining by the natives during the unrecorded years of their occupancy, it is clear that the primitive methods of work have left no traces visible to-day.

A natural sequence of the ownership of the territory now known as the Mississippi Valley was the exploration of the river by French adventurers. Le Sueur pointed the way for other brave men, who were inspired both by a love of wild life and that universal hope of pecuniary gain. When reports of discoveries of rich mineral deposits in the hills of the section defined by the Ouisconsin and Mississippi Rivers reached the lower settlements, numerous parties undoubtedly attempted to speedily profit by the knowledge thus gained.

The Missouri Diggings

Some twenty years after the voyage of Le Sueur (who unquestionably did find lead at several different points on the Upper Mississippi, besides obtaining specimens in the Fever River country), mining was actually begun in what are known as the Missouri Diggings, although it was not until 1798 that it became a regular business or was systematically carried on.

The sparse settlement of the Lower Mississippi Valley at the beginning of the century did not conduce to a rapid invasion of the Indian country, as in the present days the discovery of valuable minerals in forbidden regions would do.

The Margry Letters

A most valuable contribution to historic information was recently made through the medium - ship of Hon. E. B. Washburne, late United States Minister to France, and formerly a resident of Galena. Mr. Washburne dates his interest in the lead region from 1840, and because of those years of prosperity there he gladly improved opportunities presented while he was in France to gain further knowledge of its early history. The subjoined extract explains itself, and is most timely in its appearance.

Dear Sir : From the great interest you have taken in the early discoveries and explorations in Canada (or iNevv France) and Louisiana, you are aware that Pierre Margry is one of the most thoroughly studied men of the present day in all those matters, as he is also one of the best-known men in historical circles, both in Europe and in this country. The Cliicago Historical Society honored itself, some time since, by making him an honorary member. In view of his extended and accurate researches, he has been decorated by the French Government as a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor. It may be said that he has spent most of his life in the archives of the Ministry of the Marine of France. It is a mine of historic wealth of unsurpassed richness. Under the patronage of our Congress he has brought out a vast mass of material, hitherto unpublished, in relation to the discovery and explorations of the French on the North American Continent. This material is in the course of publication at Washington, and will be looked for with great interest by all students of history.

I had the pleasure, during my residence in Paris, of knowing Mr. Margry quite well, and talked with him often in regard to the early history of New France and Louisiana. In the course of our conversation, I took the opportunity to talk with him touching the early discoveries of lead mines in what is now lUinoisand Missouri, and received a letter in reply, which I inclose herewith. He was kind enough to send me a transcript of certain documents which are to be published by Congress, and which I have not yet seen. By these documents I am more convinced than ever that the Galena and Dubuque lead mines were the earliest ever discovered by the French explorers, either in Illinois, Iowa or Missouri. The accounts of the discovery, about the year 1719, of the mine of M. de la Motte and the Maramek mines of Missouri, are very interesting, but I cannot here refer to them particularly. What interested me very much is an extract from a letter, written from Fort de Cbartres, on the 21st day of .July, 1722, by one Le Gardeur de Lisle, which I copy herewith, and which is in relation to the discovery of minerals on the Illinois River:

" I have thehonor to inform you, gentlemen, that I havebeen sent in command of a detachmentof twelve soldiers, to accompany Mons. Renaud to the Illinois River, where the Indians have found some lumps of copper, which they brought to Mons. de Boisbriant, and more particularly to a coal mine, said to be very rich.

" When we reached the place of our destination. M. Renaud commenced the search for the Coppermine, but without success, no sign of that metal being visible anywhere. However, in looking for the coal mine, which we had been told was near the spot we had examined befoi-e, we discovered a silver and copper mine, of which Mons.|Renaud made an assay, and which upon the surface of the ground is much richer than M. de la Motte's.

" I have kept a little diary of that journey ; 1 take the liberty of sending it to you. It will enable you to locate the spot where this mine is situated. It is a most beautiful site ; the mine is easy to work, and close to a magnificent country for settlers. I am delighted with my trip and with the success which has attended it, for the assay made by Mons. Renaud was upon ore found on the surface, and it has proved to be much better than that of M. de la Motte's mine," etc.

The alleged discovery of silver and copper mines on the Illinois River has never been verified to any extent. As to the coal mine said to be " very rich," a question which now arises is. Where was it located? All of the expeditions for the discovery of mines were fitted out at Fort Chartres, which was then evidently the commercial as well as the military headquarters of all the country.

The letters, reports, etc., made in regard to these early mines, are very interesting. In one of the reports made by one Le Guis, in 1743, he speaks of the miners of that day, and his description of them would apply, in many respects, to the miners in the Fever River, or Galena, lead mines half a century ago. He says:

" Most of these miners, numbering eighteen or twenty when I left Illinois, have been driven there by fast living, unable to satisfy their passions any longer. Then, everybody here works for himself, and only gives his attention to a few veins or branches, not being able to dig far enough to reach the heart of the mine. In their search they use an auger four or five feet lomr, which they sink into the ground in different places until they find one of these veins. When they do strike one, they make a big hole and dig all the mineral they can out of it. If they meet with any obstacle, in the way of stones or water, they give up that vein and try elsewhere. As soon as one man has gathered enough mineral to live the rest of the year, he quits work and begins to smelt it."

Further along in this report, M. Le Guis gives an account of the manner in which these miners smelted their ore in 1743, and it is almost precisely thesame method which was followed in the Galena up to within three or four years before I located there in 1840. There were then the remains of many old log furnaces throughout the mines. It was about in 1836 I think that the log furnaces were supplanted by the Drummond blast furnace. The amount of waste or scoria by the old log method of smelting was very great. This waste was in a great measure avoided by the blast furnace of which the inveator was Robert A. Drummond, of Jo Daviess County, the uncle of the Hon. Willis Drummond of Iowa, late Commissioner of the General Land Office at Washington.

The following is the description of the log furnace one hundred and thirty-seven years ago: " They cut down two or three big trees and divide them in logs five feet long ; then they dig a small basin in the ground and pile three or four of these logs on top of each other over this basin ; then they cover it with the same wood and put three more logs, shorter than the first, on top, and one at each end, crosswise. This makes a kind of box in which they put the mineral ; then they pile as much wood as they can on top and around it. When this is done they set fire to it from under, the logs burn up, and partly melt the mineral. They are sometimes obliged to repeat the same operation three times in order to extract all the matter. This matter, falling into the basin, forms a lump which they afterward melt over again into bars, weighing from sixty to eighty pounds, in order to facilitate the transportation to Kaskaskia. This is done with horses, who are quite vigorous in this country. One horse carries senerally four or five of these bars. It is worthy of remark, gentlemen, that in spite of the bad system these men have to work, there have been taken out of the La Motte mine 2,500 of these bars in 1741 ; 2,228 in 1742 ; and these men work only four or five months in the year at most."

Mr. Margrj also observes that he is unable to throw direct light upon the occupation of the Fever River section by the French, in the eighteenth century. A history of Louisiana, written by Lepage Dupratz in 1758, forty-five years before the ownership of the colony was transferred, contains the statement that " the region is not frequented." This is but natural, since the French Governors held quasi court in Canada and the Lower Mississippi region, leaving the western tract of the present Illinois out of the range of more frequent mention.

Dubuqtte'S Settlement

In 1788, Julien Dubuque, a French trader with the Indians, who had heard of the region in the course of his business, located on the site of the city bearing his name. He was accompanied by a party of miners. Dubuque obtained a grant of a large tract of land from the chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes, and was, fortunately, able to secure the confirmation of his claim from Carondelet, then Governor of Louisiana. The grant was confined to the western bank of the Mississippi. Dubuque remained in occupation of these lands, engaged in mining, until the time of his death, which occurred in 1810.

Julien Dubuque's grave is on the summit of a high blufi" overlooking the Mississippi River, about two miles below the city of Dubuque, and above the mouth of Catfish Creek.

When Dubuque located on the west shore, it is said that a man named D'Bois also located on the east bank, nearly opposite the Frenchman's trading and mining post, probably a short distance below the Dunleith of to-day. But so little is known of this man that his residence is traditionary. The period between 1788 and 1811 is one of vague and uncertain historic character in this region. It is said that traces of white occupants at a very early period were discovered on the Sinsinawa by the "first " settlers of Jo Daviess County, who were miners. It would be strange, indeed, with the knowledge of the immense deposits of lead and the abundance of game in this region, as well as the mining operations of Dubuque, so near at hand, if no adventurers or traders ever visited the Riviere au Feve, or ventured among the Sacs and Foxes east of the Mississippi ; especially since the success of Dubuque in gaining a grant could not be kept a matter of absolute secrecy. Roving traders and agents of the American Fur Company - that corporation which has left its tracks everywhere throughout the Northwest - must surely have been cognizant of the rich stores of peltry annually obtained along the Wisconsin and its many tributaries, and engaged in competition with the miner and trader on the west side. But thus far no record of occupation or irregular trafiic has been discovered. The first evidence of occupation of Jo Daviess County after D'Bois, and prior to 1819-20, is the testimony of Capt. D. S. Harris, of Galena, an old steamboat Captain who ran upon the Mississippi at a very early day, and who furnished the information hereinafter given, as late as 1878.

A Missing Island

Capt. Harris says that, in 1811, George E. Jackson, a Missouri miner, had a rude log furnace and smelted lead on an island then existing in the Mississippi, but which has since dis.

Histoky Of The Lead Eegion

appeared. The island was on the east side of the main channel, a short distance below Dunleith nearly opposite the mouth of the Catfish Creek. Jackson floated his lead to St. Louis by flatboat, and experienced much trouble with the Indians. He was joined in 1812-13 by John S. Miller, but soon after the island was abandoned. Jackson went to Missouri, and Miller went down the river and built the first cabin and blacksmith-shop on the site of Hannibal, Mo. It is said that in 1818, Miller, in company with George W. Ash and another man, ascended the Mississippi with a boat load of merchandise as far as Dubuque's mines, trading with the Indians. It is believed he penetrated to the site of Galena, and spent some time on Fever River in this region.

The first permanent settlement by white men on the east shore, within the lead district, of which any reliable knowledge remains, dates from 1820, on what is now Galena River. In 1823, Miller and Jackson again visited this spot.

In 1803, when the United States purchased the province of Louisiana from Napoleon, of France, the existence of lead mines in this region was well known. In 1807, Cono-ress enacted that these mines should be reserved from sale and held in fee simple, under the exclusive control of the Government. Leases of three to five years were issued to various individuals to work them as tenants of the United States, but, until about 1823, most of the work was done in Missouri, and the operations appear to have been carried on without much system. Miners throughout all the lead-mining districts paid but slight attention to Congressional enactments. Lessees were not properly supported in their rights, and, of course, became constantly involved in disputes with claimants and trespassers, which often proved ruinous to their undertakings.

The veteran Capt. Harris says that, unquestionably, Julien Dubuque operated on both sides of the Mississippi, and mined on Apple River, near the present village of Elizabeth, worked the old Buck and Hog leads, near Fever River, the Cave Diggings, in what is now Vinegar Hill Township, and others, as early as 1805, and very probably at a still earlier date. The Indians were on very friendly terms with Dubuque, and, when they reported a discovery to him, he sent his assistants, Canadian Frenchmen and half-breeds, to prove them, and, in some cases, to work them. All over this region, Avhen Capt. Harris came to Fever River, a lad of fifteea, in 1823, traces of old mining operations existed, which were evidently not the work of the Indians. At what was called the Allenwrath Diggings, at Ottawa, about two miles from the present city of Galena, a heavy sledge-hammer was found under the ashes of one of those primitive furnaces, in 1826. This furnace had been worked long before the date generally assigned to the first white settlement in this region. This ancient hammer, weighing from fifteen to twenty pounds, was - and probably still is - preserved by Mr. Houghton, a well-known editor of the Northwest. The Indians never used such an implement, and it was unquestionably left by some of Dubuque's miners where it was found in 1826.

All these important considerations, in connection with the fact that the Mississippi River was the great highway of the pioneers of that day; that Prairie du Chien was a thriving French village, and had been a French military post as early as 1755, long before Dubuque located above the mouth of Catfish Creek; that a military and trading post existed at Fort Armstrong (Rock Island) previous to the later " first settlements " on the east side of the Mississippi, now Jo Daviess County, lead almost irresistibly to the conclusion that " La Pointe " was well known to the earlier Indian traders, and that the lead-mining region around Riviere au Feve had been visited and occupied, temporarily at least, by white men, for many years prior to 1819-20. But by whom? History is silent, and those hardy pioneers have left no footprints on the shifting sands of time.

It must be considered as reasonably certain, as previously stated, that the lead-mining district, now lying in Jo Daviess County, [11., and in Grant, Iowa and La Fayette Counties, Wis., was more or less occupied by Dubuque's men before any permanent settlements were made in the territory. Dubuque, by his wonderful magnetic power, had obtained great influence among the Indians, then occupying this entire region. They believed him to be almost eqoal to the Great Spirit, and they feared him nearly as much. They implicitly obeyed him, and it is not a mere chimera to presume that they reported to him the existence of leads on the east as well as on the west side of the Father of Waters ; and it is reasonable to suppose, when such reports were made to him, that he verified them by actual observations made by himself or his men. From the remembrances of the oldest residents of this region, now surviving, and the traces of mining done by whites long before any permanent settlements were made, it seems more than probable that Dubuque and his men were the first whites who occupied the Fever River leadmining district, in common with the aboriginal inhabitants.

It must also be considered certain that " La Pointe " was familiar to them as a trading-post, long previous to actual white settlement. The total absence of records leaves the subject enshrouded in a darkness that is relieved only by tradition. The locality here designated as " La Pointe " is that also known as " The Portage," near the present city of Galena.

In February, 1810, Nicholas Boilvin, then agent for the Winnebagoes at Prairie du Chien, passed through this region on foot from Rock Island, with Indians for guides, and by them was shown a lead mine, which, from his memoranda, written in the French language, was near Fever River, and was probably what was afterward known to the early settlers as the Old Buck Lead.

Early Navigation And Commerce

In 1810, Henry Shreeve is said to have worked his way up to Fever River, and there obtained a small cargo of lead, which he floated back to the towns on the Lower Mississippi.

The following extract from Moses M. Strong's forthcoming "History of Wisconsin," confirms the fact of early-time navigation and intercourse between the lead region and St. Louis :

"In the period between 1815 and 1820, Capt. John Shaw made eight trips, in a tradingboat, from St. Louis to Prairie du Chien, and visited the lead mines where the city of Galena now is, and where the Indians smelted the lead in rude furnaces of their own construction ; and at one time Mr. Shaw carried away seventy tons, which they had produced from the ores obtained by themselves, in their primitive modes.

In 1816, by a treaty made at St. Louis with various tribes to settle the disputes that had arisen under the treaty of 1804, by which the Sacs and Foxes had ceded to the United States all the lands lying between the Illinois and Wisconsin Rivers, east of the Mississippi, all the lands north of a line running west from the southern extremity of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, were relinquished to the Indians, except a tract five leagues square on the Mississippi River, to be designated by the President of the United States. These reservations were intended to be sufficient to embrace the lead mines known to be worked by the squaws and presumed to be valuable, although their location was not known to the Government, and probably the undefined character of the reservation is thus accounted for.

Davenport At Fever River

In 1816, the late Col. George Davenport, agent of the American Fur Company, trading with the Sacs and Foxes, occupied the trading-post at the Portage, on Fever River, and lived there, but how long is not now known. He soon after left that point and went to Rock Island. The post was afterward occupied by Amos Farrar, of the firm of Davenport, Farrar & Farnham, agents of the American Fur Company. This important fiict in the early history of this district is given on the authority of William H. Snyder, of Galena, who had the statement direct from Col. Davenport in 1835.

Previous to 1819, the Sacs and Foxes, both noted as warlike and dangerous tribes, had killed several traders who had attempted to trafiic among them. It was currently reported that a trader met his death at their hands, at Sinsinawa, in 1813.

The Buck Lead

In 1819, the historic diggings known for more than half a century as the " Buck Lead," were being worked by the Indians, the labor being mainly performed by squaws. It was the largest body of mineral then ever discovered on Fever River, and an imm"ense amount of galena ore was taken out by the natives and sold to traders, before the lead was worked out by Johnson, as hereinafter referred to. Mr. Farrar estimated that several million pounds had been taken from this lead by the Indians ; more, in fact, than was taken from it by white miners afterward. This lead took its name from "The Buck," a Sac or Fox chief, who was encamped with his band on Fever River in 1819, and worked it. Its existence had been known to the Indians for many years, and unquestionably by Dubuque, previous to its working by Buck and his band. Close by it and parallel with it, was a smaller lead, which may be called the " Doe " lead, in honor of I^uck's favorite squaw. Before the arrival of Johnson, in 1820-21, the Indians took from this ead the largest nugget of mineral ever raised in the region. It took all the force they could muster to raise it, and, when they had succeeded in getting it out, the Indian miners urged that it be sent to Washington as a gift to the Great Father, but, since no record of its having been so disposed of is extant, it is reasonable to believe that the traders outweighed their inclinations by offering a slight advance on the customary price, which was a peck of corn for a peck of mineral.

In 1819, when the Buck Lead was being worked by the Indians, Jesse W. Shull was trading at Dubuque's mines, for a company at Prairie du Chien. That company desired him to go to Fever River and trade with the Indians; but he declared that it was unsafe, that the Sacs and Foxes had already murdered several traders, and declined to go unless he could have the protection of the United States troops. Col. Johnson, of the United States Army, subsequently was induced to summon a council of the Sac and Fox nations at Prairie du Chien, and when the chiefs had assembled, he informed them that the goods which Mr. Shull was about to bring among them were sent out by their Father, the President of the United States (it was not considered a sin to lie to the Indians even as long ago as then), and told them that they must not molest Shull in his business.

Having received from the Government officers and from the Indians assurances of protection, Shull came to Fever River late in the summer of 1819, and erected a trading-house on the bottoms at the river, probably near the foot of the present Perry street. Mr. Seymour, in his " History of Galena," published in 1818, fixes the location as the "site of the American House; " but, as that landmark has long since disappeared, the location is indefinite. During 1848, Mr. Seymour had a personal interview with Mr. Shull, then residing in Green County, and gathered from his lips the information given herein. Mr. Shull stated that he and Dr. Samuel C. Muir were the first white settlers on Fever River at that point. Dr. Muir began trading, with goods furnished by Col. Davenport, at that place, the same year. Mr. Shull also said that Francois Bouthillier, a French trader known about Prairie du Chien as early as 1812, " occupied " a rude hut at the bend, on the east side of Fever River, in 1819 ; but whether he built the same, or merely occupied a shanty already constructed by some earlier trader, is undetermined. This leaves the subject in a vague state ; but the inference is that Bouthillier not only lived in but also built the hut.

Mr. Shull does not appear to have been a permanent fixture at Fever River, for he soon moved to other places, and changed his base as the Indians shifted their hunting and trapping grounds. He subsequently removed to what is now La Fayette County, as is shown in the history of that county proper.

Dr. Samuel C. Muir

Dr. Samuel C. Muir, mentioned by Mr. Shull as trading in the district in 1819, may have been the companion of that pioneer, but no evidence goes to prove the fact. Just when he first came and how long he remained is unknown. Dr. Muir was an educated physician, a graduate oi

Edinburs, and a man of strict integrity. He was Surgeon in the United States Army previous to his settlement at La Pointe. He married an Indian woman of the Fox Nation. In 1819-20 Dr Muir was stationed at Fort Edwards, now Warsaw. He resigned in the latter Year and built the first house on the site of Keokuk, but leased his claim to parties in St. Louis, and 'acrain came to La Pointe in 1820, to practice his profession. He was the first regular physicianln the district. He remained ten years. Subsequently, he returned to Keokuk, wliere he suddenly died, leaving an estate badly involved. His widow and her two surviving children (two had previously died) disappeared, some say to resume her old relations with her tribe, on the Upper Missouri.

A. P. Van Matre

In the summer of 1819, A. P. Van Matre located on the east side of the river, at i.a Pointe, where he engaged in smelting. From an article on the early settlement of this district published in the Galena Sentinel in 1843, the following is taken relative to this man :

"In the fall of the year 1819, our old friend, Capt. D. G. Bates, started from St. Louis, with a French crew, for Fever River, Upper Mississippi, lead mines. His vessel was a ' keel,' the only means of conveyance then of heavy burthens on the Upper Mississippi ; and the boatmen in those days were, some of them, 'half-horse and half-alligator.' But the merry French, after arriving off Pilot Knob, commenced hunting for Fever River. After a search of three days they found the mouth, and, on the 13th of November, after pushing through the high grass and rice lakes, they arrived safely at where Galena now stands, where they were greeted by some of the natives, "from the tall grass, as well as by our old acquaintances, J. W. Shull and A. P. Van Matre, who had taken to themselves wives from the daughters of the land, and were traders for their brethren. [A portion of the scrap is here gone. Others are evidently mentioned; Dr. Muir, for one.] Capt. Bates, after disposing of or leaving his cargo in exchange for lead, etc., returned to St. Louis for another cargo."

Future generations will be glad to learn what the primitive "keel-boat " was. The novel craft was built to fill the peculiar demand of the locality. It was something like a modern " scow-barge," only its hull was lower. These boats were from fifty to eighty feet long and from ten to fifteen feet beam, with two to three feet depth of hold. On the deck was built the " cargobox," which generally extended to within about ten feet of the ends of the boat, with about two feet' space between gunwales and box. This space was called a " walking-board." Sometimes there was no room for this runway, and it was projected over the hull. The rudder was a gigantic sweep. The boat was propelled by oars, sails, poles, or any other contrivance which ingenuity or necessity suggested. When the water was high and the boat near shore, the crew would seize the bushes and "bushwhack " along. The character of many men who engaged in this life was such as to render " bushwhacking " a term of severest reproach even to this day. Frequently, a long rope was attached to the boat, and the crew organized into a towing-club. This style of navigation was called " cordelling." Sometimes a rope was made fast to a tree or an anchor and hauled upon, the crew walking from storc to stern until the craft was alongside of the anchorage, when another " hitch " was made. This laborious work was the only method of securing navigation in the Upper Mississippi at the time mentioned.

Francois Bouthillier, the other and later occupant of the Fever River trading-post in 1819, was a roving trader, who followed the nomadic habits of his dusky customers. Whether he remained in his shanty, calling it home, from that time on, is unknown. The second mention of him is made in the statement of J. G. Soulard, who, while on his way to Fort Snelling, in 1821, found Bouthillier at Fever River, still acting as trader. Mr. Shull, in the interview with Mr. Seymour, already mentioned, said : " Mr. Bouthillier, after he occupied a shanty at the ' Bend,' in 1819, purchased a cabin then known as the cabin of Bagwell & Co., supposed to be near the lower ferry. In 1824, and previous to Bouthillier's purchase, the house and lot had been sold for $80." Here Mr. Bouthillier engaged in trade and established a ferry, which is the first permanent settlement made by him of which authentic account is given. Capt. Harris is authority for saying that such a ferry and trading-house were built near that point.

Tn this connection, it is well to add that Mr. George Ferguson and Mr. Allan Tomlin, early settlers and reliable men, both express the opinion that there was a trading-post at the Portage three and a-half miles below La Pointe, before either of those whose namesliave been mentioned were at the place. However this may be, in the absence of further evidence, it must be admitted that there were a large number of Indians encamped or living in the reo-ion referred to at that time, whose women and old men were engaged in raising lead from the Buck lead, and the fame of their rude though, for them, extensive mining operations, must have naturally attracted the attention of traders, who probably came to traffic with them. The inference, if not the proof, sustains the statements of Messrs. Ferguson and Tomlin. The Portage Avas a narrow neck of land between Fever River and the Mississippi, so named because the Indians and traders were accustomed to transport their canoes and goods across to save the journey down to the mouth, some two and a half miles, the neck being only a few rods in width. A furrow was plowed across the neck in 1834, by Lieut. Ilobart, and now there is a deep channel, called the " cutoff." This was certainly a good location for a trading-post.

In November, 1821, when the charge of the lead mines was transferred from the General Land Office to the War Department, no mines were known to be worked in any of the mining districts under leases or legal authority, although many were known to be worked without authority, especially in Missouri. This statement is made in the sense of United States authority, for it was only by obtaining the authority and friendship of the Indians, either by marriage with squaws or by presents, that operations could be carried on with impunity by white men.

The First White Woman

In 1821, Thomas H. January located on "La Pointe." He brought his wife and one child - a son. This must be accepted as the first known presence of a white woman in the lead region. Mrs. January died in a short time after her arrival, and her remains were taken back to Kentucky, her former home, in 1826. Mr. January was a former resident of Maysville, Ky., where he lost his fortune. He moved to the new country for the purpose of retrieving his financial condition. He died November 29, 1828, and was buried with Masonic honors, according to the Miner s Journal, a paper he doubtless helped to establish.

The First American History

in 1822, this extreme western frontier settlement had become sufficiently well known to have a place in the literature of the day. A book called Tlie Grazetteer of Illinois and Missouri was published that year. The Galena River, called frequently "Fever River," was also known as "Bean River," because the French traders had styled it "Riviere au Feve," meaning bean. The Gazetteer contained the following:

"Bean River (Riviere au Feve, Fr.), a navigable stream of Pike County, emptying into the Mississippi three miles below Catfish Creek, twenty miles below Dubuque's mines, and about seventy above Rock River. Nine miles up this stream a small creek empties into it from the west. The banks of this creek and the hills, which abound in alluvium, are filled with lead ore of the best quality. Three miles below this, on the banks of Bean River, is the trader's village, consisting of ten or twelve houses or cabins. At this place the ore is obtained from the Indians, is smelted, and then sent in boats either to Canada [by way of the Wisconsin to the Portage, then down the Fox River to Green Bay] or New Orleans. The mines are at present extensively worked by Colonel Johnson, of Kentucky, who, during the last session of Congress (winter of 1821-22), obtained the exclusive right of working them for three years. The lands on this river are poor, and are only valuable on account of the immense quantities of mineral which they contain."

In the same work,''Chicago is simply mentioned as a "village of Pike County, containing twelve or fifteen houses, and about sixty or seventy inhabitants." It is very evident that there wns a "traders' village " on or near the present site of Galena in 1822, and that it was a point of more importance, commercially, than Chicago at that time. The statement is confirmed by a letter from Capt. M. Marston, then commander at Fort Edwards, to Amos Farrar, Fever River, dated April 12, 1822, in which appears the following: "The Johnsons, of Kentucky, have leased the Fever River lead mines, and are about sending up a large number of men. It is also said that some soldiers will be stationed there. If this is all true, the Foxes, and all the trading establishnents now there, must remove."

An explanation of the foregoing, and a confirmation of historic assertion, is found in official documents. If the lead mines attracted traders, they naturally attracted miners also. Especially so since the Missouri mines were known to be fields wherein depredations could be, and were, carried on. It followed in logical sequence that the Fever River district should not be left in exemption to the rule. Possibilities soon become probabilities and actualities.

Leaving the Indian's and unlawful white man's attempts out of further mention, it is found that the first regular operations of which records speak were those carried on by James Johnson, of Kentucky, who is named in the foregoing extracts from the Gf-azetteer and letter. Mr. Johnson is spoken of as a brother of the historic Col. R. M. Johnson, famous as the accredited slayer of Tecumseh - a disputed point in more recent history, however, but one foreign to this chapter- The date of Johnson's arrival at La Pointe must remain forever in obscurity, unless some records not now discovered are hereafter brought to light. Capt. Marston's letter, quoted above, is supplemented by a letter written by Dr. H. Newhall, dated "' Fever River, March 1, 1828," in which the Doctor speaks of the Buck lead as having been " worked out by Col. Johnson while he was at these mines in 1820-21." J. Gr Soulard, who passed up the Mississippi in 1821, as already mentioned, also speaks of Johnson. He says the latter's boats were seen floating down the river loaded with lead. He did not see Johnson, however. It is believed that Johnson first came to the district in 1819-20 as a trader. In 1820-21, it appears probable that he mined without Government authority, but under purchased permission from the Indians. At that time the Land Ofiice, and not the War Department, had control of the matter, and a very vigorous exercise of authority was neither possible nor attempted. It is barely supposable that Johnson was there engaged merely in smelting, and did not mine at all until legally empowered to do so.

In August or September, 1821, Amos Farrar was managing a trading-post on Fever River, as agent for the American Fur Company, and was living there with his Fox wife. This fact is established by the existence of a letter addressed to him at the " Lead Mines, Fever River," from Major S. Burbank, commander at Fort Armstrong, dated October 14, 1821. The letter was sent " by favor of Mr. Music," and tendered Mr. Farrar -' my old black horse, if it will be of any service to you." A letter dated at Fort Armstrong, November 21, 1821, signed "J. R. Stubbs," a blacksmith, was addressed to "Amos Farrar, Fever River, and introduced the bearer of the letter, Mr. Symmes, who is accompanied by Mr. Connor and Mr. Bates." These were, probably, B. Symmes and James Connor ; but whether it was David G or Nehemiah Bates, is uncertain. The documents preserved show that Mr. Farrar was, for at least two years before and up to July 22, 1821, in the service of Louis Devotion, as a trader on the Mississippi, located at Fort Armstrong, and receiving his goods, via Green Bay, from Canada. About the date referred to, he left Devotion's service and located at Portage, on Fever River. In 1823, he had a trading-house on the bank of the river near the center of what is now Water street. Galena. On the first of June, 1825, INIr. Farrar received a permit, signed Charles Smith, acting Sub-agent of the United States Lead Mines, permitting him to occupy five acres of United States land for cultivation, and to build a cabin thereon, situated near the Portage. He was compelled to comply with all the timber regulations. Mr. Farrar had three children by his Fox wife, but who are now dead. About two years before his death, he married Miss Sophia Gear, sister of Capt. H. H. Gear. He died of consumption July 24, 1832, at his house within the stockade then existing.

The Change In Management

In November, 1821, the jurisdiction of the lead mines was transferred from the General Land Office to the War Department, and January 4, 1822, leases were granted to T. D. Carniel and

Benjamin Johnson, and to Messrs. Suggett & Payne, all of Kentucky, for one hundred and six 13- acres of land to each of the two parties to be selected by them, in the northern part of Illinois or the southern part of the then Michigan Territory, now Wisconsin. Lieut. C. Burdine, of the United States Army, was ordered to meet them in the spring at the Great Crossings of the Kentucky, proceed with them in exploring the country, assist them in the selection of their lands, protect them with an armed force, and mal ? surveys of the ground for the information of the Government. Subsequently, leases were granted to other parties. The absence of records in the West - though probably such reports as were made can be found in the archives of the War Department, if one is desirous of gaining positive knowledge - leaves the precise movements of Lieut. Burdine in obscurity. It is presumable that he obeyed the orders of his superiors, however, and made a more or less careful survey. April 12, 1822, Capt. Marston, at Fort Edwards (Warsaw), wrote to Amos Farrar, at Fever River, that " the Johnsons, of Kentucky, have leased the Fever Lead Mines, and are about sending up a large number of men." It is probable that under their lease they selected land to include the Buck lead; and a little later, in the same year, James Johnson and a Mr. Ward (probably D. L. Ward) came from Kentucky, bringing with them a number of negro slaves. It was thus that human slavery was introduced into the lead district. The statement is authoritatively made that the leaders were accompanied by several young white men, whose names are not now remembered. Johnson had his furnace on the site of McClosky's store, on the levee. He worked the Buck lead, and raised a large amount of ore. David G. Bates and A. P. Van Matre worked a vein of mineral on Apple River, near Elizabeth (Georgetown), but smelted their ore at Fever River. The number of miners at work at this period (1822) is not known.

During 1822, Dr. Moses Meeker visited the lead region on a tour of observation. Unquestionably others visited Fever River the same year for the same purpose, as the extraordinary deposit of mineral had become knewn in the old settlements south and east.

Maj. John Anderson, of the United States Topographical Engineers, was stationed as Government Agent at Fever River in 1822, probably, although the exact date is not shown. He occupied a shanty on what was known as "Anderson's Slough" (now Harris' Slough), about two and a half miles from Galena.

William Adney and wife were also in the place, Adney had been a soldier, and arrived here that spring. Mrs. Adney was the only white woman at Fever River when the Ohio colony arrived, which caused the statement to be made that she was the first white woman to settle in in the district. The facts already mentioned concerning Mrs. Thomas H. January's arrival in 1821, and her death a short time later, show that Mrs. Adney must have been the second white female settler. Mrs. Adney 's remains were disinterred and taken to her former home in Kentucky in 1826.

These few cabins and smelting-furnaces constituted the abodes of the white population in the entire region, but the bottoms, ravines and hill-sides were thickly dotted with the wigwams of the Sacs and Foxes. They were peaceable and treated the whites kindly. The greater portion of the meats consumed by the settlers was furnished by the Indians. The squaws and old men, who were too weak to hunt, were made to raise the mineral from the mines. The Winnebagoes and Menomonees, although living in what is now Wisconsin, used to trade with the whites on Fever River.

In 1823, large and important accessions were made to the population of the then remote pioneer settlements on Fever River, and the history of the mining region begins to emerge from the obscurity and uncertainty theretofore surrounding it. The testimony of reliable, living witnesses was obtained in 1878, by the Western Historical Company. Capt. D. S. Harris and Hiram B. Hunt, then surviving, and, indeed, the only survivors of the emigration of that year, and a few persons who came in 1824, contributed to the interest and value of the history of the region published in 1878,

In 1823, there transpired an important event. Dr. Moses Meeker, who had prospected on Fever River during the previous year, organized a colony and embarked on the 20th day of April on the keel-boat " Col. Bomford," at Cincinnati, Ohio, for " the mines." There were thirty men, besides the women and children, in the party, and seventy-five tons of freight, consisting of a complete raining outfit merchandise and provisions, sufficient to subsist the party a year after their arrival. Among the passengers, and all whose names can now be recorded, were : Dr. Moses Meeker, James Harris, his son, Daniel Smith Harris, then fifteen years old ; Benson Hunt and his wife, Elizabeth Harris Hunt ; his two daughters, Dorlesca and Dorcina, and his son, Hiram Benson - aged respectively, six, four and two years ; John Doyle, wife and child ; Maria Bunco and her brothers, John and Hiram ; Maria Rutherford ; Thomas Boyce ; Israel Garretson ; John Whittington, the steersman ; William Howlett, and a man named House.

At St. Louis, James Harris left the boat and purchased a herd of cattle, which he drove overland, aniving two or three weeks later than the main party.

he " Col. Bomford " reached Fever River June 20, after a safe passage of sixty days, whi.- was considered remarkably quick. The Mississippi was very high, and bushwhacking had to be resorted to frequently. Just below St. Louis, the steamer " Virginia," bound for Fort Snelling with supplies for the troops, passed the pioneers. This was the first steamer to make the trip of the Upper Mississippi, above the mouth of the Illinois River. The " Virginia " touched at Fever River, being the " first arrival " at that " port," landing in June, 1823. Her speed was but little superior to a well-manned keel-boat. The " Col. Bomford " reached haven on Sunday, June 20, and ran up the small creek known as Meeker's Branch, where a landing was efiected on the south bank, not far from the main stream.

The arrival of Dr. Meeker marked a new era in the history of the mining district, and gave an impetus to the growth of the little outpost, which was then scarcely more than an Indian village, almost unknown except to traders. It required enthusiasm, energy, bravery, perseverance and patient endurance of toil and privations, not experienced in later years, to venture into the Indian country and there make permanent settlement. Dr. Meeker possessed all those characteristics in a remarkable degree, as did also James Harris, his foreman, confidential counselor and friend. The two men became the head and soul, so to speak, of the new settlement, and to them, perhaps more than to any others, it owes its rapid development, until, six years after their arrival, a town was laid off by the United States authorities. Mrs. Meeker died December, 1829, aged thirty-nine years. Dr. Meeker removed to Iowa County in 1833, and his history will be found in the chapters devoted specifically to that locality. Mr. Harris lived but a few years to witness the results of his labors, as he, too, died in 1829, suddenly. He sleeps beside his former companion, in the cemetery at Galena. His children and descendants are among the respected residents of Galena and the mineral district at the present time.

Returning to the year 1823, it is seen that Dr. Meeker built a cabin on what was called Meeker's Branch, now on the east side of Main street. Galena. Hunt built a cabin a little north. Directly across the road from Meeker's cabin a well was sunk. This well still remains, although unused, to prove the identity of these pioneer cabins. Fifteen or twenty feet north of the well, Benson Hunt built a blacksmith-shop, and there did the first regular work of the kind done in the district. Harris and his son also put up cabins not far from Meeker's.

During the early years of settlement. Fever River was really an arm of the Mississippi, and the first settlers attempted to make a harbor there, with considerable success, as is shown by the early legislative proceedings.

When Dr. Meeker arrived, in June, 1823, he found less than one hundred white men in the entire region. Prominent among them were Dr. Samuel C. Muir, who was practicing medicine and was highly esteemed by all ; Thomas H. January, Amos Farrar, Jesse W. Shull, Frangois Bouthillier, A. P. Vanmatre, D. G. Bates, John Conley, John Ray, James Johnson, Nehemiah

Bates, James Connor, B. Sjmmes, E. Rutter, John Burrell, Joseph Hardy, Robert Burton (not the smelter), Montgomery Wilson, Stephen P. Howard, Martin Smith, Israel Mitchell (a surveyor), John Armstrong, Cuyler Armstrong, William Thorn and others.

The War Department's Report for 182-3 shows that the only persons engaged legitimately in mining and smelting in this district under Government lease were James Johnson, James Connor, B. Symmes and E. Rutter. This was in September. Dr. Meeker put up a furnace that year, but his name was not returned in the reports until 1824. During the latter year he cultivated land, and planted the first orchard in the district.

The First Marriage

In the fall of 1823, Israel Garretson and Maria Bunco were married in the Meeker cabin by an army officer whose name is not preserved. Probably it was Maj. John Anderson then stationed at Fever River as Government Agent. There was neither minister nor magistrate in the district at that date. Miss Rutherford and William Hines were married at the same time. These, so far as is known, were the first marriages of white people solemnized in the district.

The First Death

About this time, a General Schimerman, whose name does not appear in other records obtainable now at this point, was taken sick and died at the village, which was the first death after the arrival of the Ohio colony.

John S. Miller and family came to the mines in 1823, and opened the first public house, in a double log-cabin, on the present northwest corner of Branch and Dodge streets. Galena.

In 1824, James Harris began the cultivation of land at Anderson's Slough, which was the second farm - Meeker's being the first - in the district. It was believed until as late as 1830 that crops could not be successfully grown so far north.

August 18, 1824, Lieut. Martin Thomas was appointed superintendent of the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, and authorized to grant leases and permits to smelters and miners and to farmers, provided they did not interfere with the mining interests.

The First Births

In October, 1824, a son was born to Benson Hunt and wife. The old family Bible contains the following entry, which is almost illegible: "James Smith Hunt, born at fifteen minutes past 1 o'clock P. M. on the 9th day of October, 1824." Soon after this event, Mary S. Miller, daughter of John S. Miller, was born. These were the first white children born in the district. Both were born within the present city limits of Galena.

Social Development

Following the history of settlement, and reserving the narrative of the mining operations until later, it is recorded that 1825 witnessed a large arrival of white settlers. John Foley, who became the first Sheriff" of Jo Daviess County, came that year. Among the more prominent men were Capt. William Henry; Capt. James Craig, whose wife was a grand-daughter of Daniel Boone ; Col. Henry Gratiot and his brother, John P. B. Gratiot, and others. The Gratiots came in a light wagon, accompanied by three hired men, with a complete outfit. They struck mineral and made their first settlement in the valley between Hinckley's and Waddell's Mounds. Subsequently, the Indians made large discoveries fifteen miles from Fever River, in what is now La Fayette County, and the Gratiots located there, as is fully shown in the history of La Fayette County.

In 1826, Charles Gear came to the district, with his family and many other persons. He was an enthusiastic Freemason, and his influence can be seen in the organization of Strangers' Union Lodge, No. 14, the first Masonic society instituted in the mining district. It was chartered by the Grand Lodge of the State of Missouri.

Sophia Gear, sister of Charles, taught the first school presided over by a woman in the district, in 1827. She afterward married Amos Farrar.

Lemon Parker, William P. Tilton, D. B. Morehouse and Robert P. Guyard organized the Galena Mining Company at an early date, and are remembered as having made Ottawa, now Barton's, a place of considerable importance, where boats landed. The company smelted on an extensive scale. They had several " log-furnaces," and dealt largely in miner's supplies.

The First Post Office

June 4, 1826, the first post office was established in the mining region. It was called "Fever River," and designated as in Crawford County, 111. As the tract south of the Michigan Territorial line (Wisconsin State line), was in Peoria County, the Post Office Department evidently labored under the impression that Crawford County, Michigan Territory, was in Illinois. Ezekiel Lockwood was appointed Postmaster. The service prior to 1828 was semimonthly, and irregular at that.

In 1826, a large number of Swiss arrived and settled at Fever River. These people emigrated to the Red River of the North in 1821, under the patronage of Lord Selkirk. They became dissatisfied with their location, and went back to St, Louis in 1823, Three years later, Louis Chetlain and several of his friends came to the mining district, and, during the summer, nearly all the original colony made their homes here.

Better than any history compiled from the fragmentary statements of after years - better even than unaided memory, striving often in vain to recall the events of fifty years ago, are the letters and memoranda written at that time by intelligent men, who lived here, andknew whereof they wrote. Dr. E. G. Newhall has permitted the following copy of a letter, written by his honored father. Dr. Horatio Newhall, to his brother Isaac Newhall, Esq., of Salem, Mass., to be taken expressly for this work. It will be valuable to the people of this section, both on account of the information it conveys, and because the writer, now passed away, is tenderly enshrined in their memories.

I received, by the last mail brouglit here by steamboat " Josephine," a newspaper from you, on the margin of which were endorsed the following words: " Write a full account." I was rejoiced to see once more a Massachusetts paper, and presume you meant by the endorsement, a full account of " Fever River." This would puzzle me or any other person on the river. It is a nondescript. It is such a place as no one could conceive of without seeing it Strangers hate it, and residents like it. The appearance of the country would convince any one it must be healtby ; yet, last season, it was more sickly than Havana or New Orleans. There is no civil law here, nor has the Gospel been yet introduced ; or, to mak^ use of a common phrase here, " Neither law nor Gospel can pass the rapids of the Mississippi." The country is one ii&mense prairie, from the Rock River on the south to the Ouisconsin on the north, and from the Mississippi on the west, to Lake Michigan on the east. It is a hilly country, and abounding with lead ore of that species called by mineralogists " galena," whence is derived the name of our town. The lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, as well as those of Missouri, are under the control of the Secretary of War. Lieut. Thomas is Superintendent. He resides at Saint Louis ; a sub-agent resides at this place. Any person wishing to dig, gets a permit of the agent to do so, by signing certain regulations, the principal of which is that he will sell his mineral to no one but a regularly licensed smelter. He has all the mineral he can raise, and sells it at $17.50 per thousand (pounds), delivered at the furnaces. Any person who gets a permit, stakes oflF two hundred yards square. This is his lot so long as he works it, and no one can interfere with his discoveries. Any perso* who will give bond to Government for $5,000, can have half a mile square, on condition that he employs tweaty laborers, and pays Governmetit 10 percent of lead made from mineral raised on his survey, or sells his mineral to a public smelter. The public smelters, of which I am one, give bond for $20,000, to pay Government one-tenth of all lead manufactured. They buy mineral of any person who has a permit to dig, manufacture it into lead, pay Government one-tenth, monthly, and are the great men of the country. The mineral, lead, and cash all go into their hands. H. Newhall & Co. got their furnace in operation 1st of September, 1827. I made, by the 15th, twenty tons of lead. My men became sick, and I made but 14,000 pounds until 1st of November, since which time I have manufactured about 17,000 pounds every week. I have a store of goods, in Galena, for the supply of those with whom I have dealings, and never sell anything for less than 60 per cent advance. My furnace is on the Sinsinawa River, three miles from Galena, a stream navigable for boats to my furnace. * * * The privilege of working tliese mines, you know, was first given by the Government to Col. Johnson, of Kentucky, five years ago (in 1822). He did but little and sunk money. Not much lead was made here till last year. There were then four log buildings in Galena. Now there are 115 houses and stores in the place. It is the place of deposit for lead and provisions, etc., for all the mining country. There is no spot in America, of the same size, where there is one-fourth of the capital, or where so much business is done. There was manufactured here, in the year ending September last, 5,000,740 pounds of lead. The population consists mainly of Americans, Irish and French (that is, in the diggings). There are but comparatively few females. Hence, every female, unmarried, who lands on these shores, is iaimeiiitely married. Little girls, fourteen and thirteen years old, are often married here. Three young ladies, who came, fellow passengers with me, in June, and the only ones on board, are all married months since. Du'Buque's Mines, on the opposite side of the Mississippi, are worked by the Fox Indians. They, however, merely skim ihe surface. The windlass and bucket are not known among them. Du'Buque's Mines is a delightful spot, particularly the Fox Village, on the bank of the Mississippi. But, of all the places in the United States, which I have seen, Rock Island, at the lower rapids of the Mississippi, called the Rapids of the Des Moines, is by far the most beautiful. Fort Armstrong is on this island. At the mouth of Fever River is a trading-house of the American Fur Company. Their trading-houses are scattered up and down the Mississippi, on the river Des Moines, St. Peters, etc. Their capital is so large, and they gave such extensive credit to the Indians, that no private establishment can compete with them. An Indian debt is outlawed, by their own custom, in one year. The fur company credits each Indian hunter a certain amount, from $100 to $500, according to his industry and skill in hunting and trapping. If, when they return in the spring, they have not furs and peltry enough to pay the debt, the trader loses it. But, on the goods sold to the Indians, there is a profit of 200 or 300 per cent made, and a profit on the furs received in payment.

December 7, 1827. Fever River was closed with ice on the 2lst of November, and, of course, navigation is ended, and I have not sent my letter. I now have an opportunity to forward it by private conveyance to Vandalia. We are now shut out from all intercourse with the world until the river opens again in the spring. We have no mail as yet, but shall have a mail once in two weeks, to commence the 1st of January next. I have not received a letter from one of my friends since I have been in Fever River. I hope you will write me before 1st of January, or as soon as you receive this letter. Sincerely yours,

This letter was mailed at Vandalia December 25, and by it is established the fact, that, although Fever River Post Office was established in 1826, it was not regularly supplied, even once a fortnight, until the spring of 1828. Mails were brought by steamboat in the summer, and in the wmter the people had none.

In the fall of 1827, Strader & Thompson brought a keel-boat load of general merchandise, including a quantity of flour and pork, from St. Louis. Mr. Bouthillier, whose trading-house was on the east side of the river, near the present site of the railroad station, purchased the entire cargo to secure the flour, as that was scarce, even then. Winter set in without a sufficient supply of provisions to supply the wants of the miners. Nearly all the flour obtainable was held by Bouthillier. It was sour and hard. He chopped it out of the barrels with hatchets, pounded it, sifted it loosely into other barrels, filling two with the original contents of one, and then sold it for $30 per barrel. Even then, the settlers saw with alarm, that there was not enough to last until spring. The winter of 1827-28 was mild and open until January 6 ; the streets had been muddy, and "not freezing in the least, even at night " - but the river froze over then. Word had reached St. Louis that the people in the mines were destitute of provisions. The steamboat "Josephine," Capt. Clark, was loaded with flour and started off" to take her chances of getting as near as possible to the mines. Slowly she made her way up the Mississippi, and when she reached the mouth of Fever River, the warm weather had weakened the ice, and she made her way, unheralded, to Galena. The date of her arrival is fixed by the following entry in a memorandum book, kept by Dr. H. Newhall : " February 25, 1828, arrived steamboat " Josephine ;" broke the ice to get up Fever River." Farther corroborated by a letter from Dr. Newhall to his brother, dated March 1, 1828, in which he says : " To our astonishment, on Monday last, a steamboat arrived from St. Louis." The people rushed to the bank, rejoiced and amazed to see a steamboat loaded with flour, except Bouthillier. The day before, Mr. Gratiot had off'ered him $25 a barrel for all the flour he had, and the off"er was refused. Mr. Gratiot now asked him what he would take for his flour, and Bouthillier, with a shrug, replied : " Dam ! hell ! suppose, by gar ! what man tinks one steamboat come up Fever River in mid de wint? " February 27, the river froze over, and March 5 the boat was still detained by ice, but arrived at St. Louis about March 14,

The following extracts from a letter from Dr. H. Newhall to his brother, dated March 1, 1828, will give some idea of social life in the mines fifty years ago :

We have had but two mails this winter. It has been pleasantly warm here during winter, and the heavi/ rains caused the ice in the river to break. * * It has been extremely cold for four days ; the river is closed with ice, and the boat (the "Josephine," which arrived on the 25th) consequently detained. We have been almost completely isolated from the rest of the world this winter. We have received the President's Message and proceedings of Congress up to the 26th of December, since that time we have had nothing. We, in Galena, enjoyed ourselves well during the winter. There have been ten or twelve balls, the last on the 22d of February. At noon a salute was fired from the cannon received during the Winnebago war. In the evening a ball was given at the Cottage Hotel (the name applied by Dr. N. to the log tavern on the west side of Main street, corner of Green), in a hall (building) sixty feet in length, ornamented with evergreens. * * There were sixty ladies and ninety gentlemen present. The ladies were elegantly dressed, and many of them were handsome. The ball was man:iged with a degree of propriety and ilecorum°scarcely to be expected in this wild country. Had I been suddenly transported into the ball-room, I should have imagined myself in some Eastern city, rather than in the wilds of the Upper Mississippi. Little should I have dreamed that within five miles was the home of the savao-e, and that only twelve miles off is a large Fox village, where 1 have witnessed the Indian dance around a fresh-taken scalp. March 5. - The steamboat ("Josephine") is still detained by ice. * * The Miners' Journal, a newspaper, will be commenced at Galena by 1st of May next. The proprietor, in his prospectus, calls it the Northern Herald. He altered the name at my suggestion. * * " Old Buck," the Fox chief, who discovered (?) the famous " Buck Lead," has been encamped all winter within a mile of my furnace (on the Sinsinawa, three miles from town). Himself and sons often visit me in town.

In 1829, David G. Bates built a small steamboat at Cincinnati, and called her the "Galena," to run between St. Louis and Galena. Robert S. Harris ran her up the river that summer, but the little boat was short lived.

October 10, 1829, the cholera carried off James Harris, the second victim of that terrible scourge ia the mines. Mr. Harris was one of the leaders in the little colony, and his death produced a profound impression.

In the winter of 1832-33, Captain D. S. Harris and his brother R. S. Harris built the first steamboat constructed in this region. It was named "Jo Daviess," and was built at Portage. Subsequently these men became known on the Mississippi as masters of their trade in practical steamboating.

Negro slavery existed in the mines for several years. It was not abolished altogether until 1840, In 1823, Capt. Harris says there were nearly one hundred and fifty negro slaves in the mines. Under the ordinance of 1787 slavery was prohibited in this Territory, but Illinois sought to evade this organic law by the enactment of statutes by which these slaves could be held as " indentured," or "registered servants," and these statutes are known as the "Black Laws." As late as March 10, 1829, the Commissioners of Jo Daviess County ordered a tax of one-half of one per cent to be levied and collected on " town lots, slaves, indentured or registered servants," etc.

Government Control Of The Mines

It is necessary to take a retrospective view of the history of the mines, at this point, to take up the threads of the narrative of settlement.

Prior to the appointment of Lieut. Martin Thomas as Superintendent of United States Lead Mines, in August, 1824, there does not appear to have been an agent of the Government here authorized to grant leases and permits to operate on United States lands. Leases of large tracts were obtained from the Government, and on these lands small miners were permitted to enter and dig under the lessees. But their numbers were few.

In 1823, the principal leads worked were all old Indian and French mines struck anew. There were diggings on January's Point, about six hundred yards above January's warehouse. On the school section just above were two leads. Next, north, was the " Hog" lead, beyond which were the " Doe" and "Buck" leads, the latter of which had been worked by French miners under Dubuque. Then, there were the " Old Cave Diggings," on Cave Branch, in what is now Vinegar Hill Township, that had also been worked by Dubuque, and the old " Indian Lead," west of the Buck lead. On the east side of the river was the "Backbone Lead," about half a mile .east of January's Point, and " Van Matre's lead, on the east side of Apple River, near the present village of Elizabeth. On the west, near Anderson's (now Harris'] Sljugli, were two

Histoky Of The Leab Regiok

In 1824, John and Cuyler Armstrong struck a lead on the Middle Fork of Miller's Branch (now Meeker's), above the old Indian leads. North of this, another lead was struck, near where the Comstock lead was afterward discovered. Mr. Vanderslice had made a discovery about two miles northwest of the settlement, and two new leads east of Vinegar Hill were worked by J. Bruner, Michael Byrne and John Furlong. On Cave Branch, one and one quarter miles southeast of " Cave Diggings," John Armstrong had found a good lead, and "the onlv one," says Capt, Harris, " where I ever saw native lead sticking to mineral." These were all the' principal diggings known in what is now Jo Daviess County when Lieut. Thomas arrived, and they had all, or nearly all, been previously worked by the Indians and French.

Up to that time it is probable that the local agent, Maj. Anderson, had not been authorized to grant leases and permits. Johnson and others had obtained their leases at Washington, but the Fever River lead deposits were found to be richer than those of Missouri, and the greater facility with which the mines or "leads" were worked, attracted a large number of miners from Missouri. The Government of the United States had, by advertisements in the leading papers of the Union, called the attention of the people to these lead mines, and invited minerslind settlers to the region. They were flocking hither, and it became indispensable to station a resident superintendent here, clothed with authority to grant permits and leases, issue regulations, settle disputes, etc. There was no other law at that time, and, as a rule, the inhabitants were quite as orderly and quite as mindful of each other's rights as they have been in later days. Property was safe and doors needed no locks.

Lieut. Thomas arrived at Fever River in October (probably), 1824, and established his headquarters in a double log c;ibin which then stood on the bank of the river, in the middle of what is now Main street, about sixty feet south of Gear street. On the north side of Gear street, close by the agency, was a little pond fed by a large spring, and a little creek connected the pond with the river. Immediately after his arrival, Lieut. Thomas issued an order to all miners to suspend operations the next day (the absence of records renders it impossible now to fix the precise date). William Adney, D. G. Bates, John Burrell and John Furlont^ were working the " Old Cave Diggings," and had just uncovered a sheet of mineral when the order came to stop next day. They worked all night, and the next morning had raised 100,000 pounds. All mining operations stopped, but only for a short time. AVithin a week they were at work again under direction to sell the mineral only to licensed smelters, so that the Government could collect the rent-lead. In explanation of this, it may be observed that miners could sell mineral only to licensed smelters, for which the Government collected one-tenth for rent, and paid them for smelting it. Miners Avere paid for only nine-tenths of the mineral they delivered. It is said that in later years the smelters have received from the Government the value of the lead thus paid, but it belonged to the miners, not to the smelters, and the money should have been expended in public improvements in the Territory, in the absence of the rightful claimants.

No records can be found of Maj. Anderson's transactions, and two old volumes marked "A" and "B," containing some of the transactions of Lieut. Thomas' agency during 1825- 27, Avhich are preserved in the archives of the county, are all of these reconls available for this Avork. Mr. Charles Smith was the sub-agent residing here, and came with Lieut. Thomas, who lived at St. Louis and visited Fever River occasionally.

The first established regulations of which record remains, and probably the first code promulgated by Superintendent Thomas, bears date "1825," but were undoubtedly issued very early in the spring, and are as follows :

First. - All miners shall forthwith report themselves to the agent, who will enter tlieir names on a register and give them a written permit to mine on ground which is not leased.