History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 61

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044

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407

HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

my furnace. * * The privilege of working these 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 Gslena. Now there are 115 houses and atores 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 wsa manufactured here, in the year ending September last, 5,000,740 pounds of lead. The population consista mainly of Americans, Iriah and French (that is, in the diggings). There are but comparatively few females. Hence, every female, unmarried, who Isnds on these shores, is immediately 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 montha eince. Du'Buque's Mines, on the opposite side of the Mississippi, are worked by the Fox Indians. They, however, merely skim the surface. The windlass and bucket are not known among them. Du'Buque'a Mines ia a delightful spot, particularly the Fox Village, on the bank of the Mississippi. But, of all the places in the United Statea, 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 & trading-house of the American Fur Company. Their trading-houses are scattered up and down the Mississippi, on the river Des Moines, St. Petera, etc. Their capital ia so large, and they gave auch extensive credit to the Indiana, that no private estab- liahment can compete with them. An Indian debt is outlawed, by their own custom, in one year. The fur company credits esch Indian hunter a certain amount, from $100 to $500, according to his industry and akill in hunting and trapping. If, when they return in the apring, 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 & profit of 200 or 300 per cent made, and & profit on the furs received in payment.

December 7, 1827.

Fever River was closed with ice on the 21st of November, and, of course, navigation is ended, and I have aot 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 msil once in two weeks, to commence the 1st of January next. I have not received a letter from one of my frienda aince 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,

H. NEWHALL.

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 winter 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 Bonthillier. 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 mem- orandum 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 offered him $25 a barrel for all the flour he had, and the offer was refused. Mr. Gratiot now asked him what he would take for his flour, and Bouthillier, with a shrug, replied : " Dam ! hell ! sup- pose, 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,

408

HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

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 heavy raine caused the ice in the river to break. *

* It has been extremely cold for four days ; the river is close I 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 Con- gress up to the 26th of December, since that time we have had nothing. We, in Galena, enjoyed ourselves well dur- ing 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 managed with a degree of propriety and decorum 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 savage, and that only twelve miles off is a large Fox village, where I 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 in the mines. Mr. Harris was one of the leaders in the little colony, and his death pro- duced 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 serv- ants," 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 IIill 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') Slough, were two

409

HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

old French leads, one of which was worked by - McLanahan, and the old " Indian Diggings," two miles west of Galena.

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 south- east of " Cave Diggings," John Armstrong had found a good lead, and "the only one," says Capt Harris, " where I ever saw native lead sticking to mineral." These were all the princi- pal diggings known in what is now Jo Daviess County when Lieut. Thomas arrived, and they had all, or nearly all, bcen previously worked by the Indians and French.

Up to that time it is probable that the local agent, Maj. Anderson, had not been author- ized 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 miners and set- tlers 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, issne 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 cabin 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 Adncy, D. G. Bates, John Burrell and John Furlong were work- ing 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. Within 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 were 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, which are preserved in the archives of the county, are all of these records available for this work. 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 pro- mulgated by Superintendent Thomas, bears date "1825," but were undoubtedly issued very early in the spring, and are as follows :

REGULATIONS FOR MINERS AT THE UNITED STATES MINES ON THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI.

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

Second .- Without such written permit, no miner shall dig or mine ; he shall forfeit his discovery and all min- eral he digs, and be prosecuted as a trespasser.

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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

Third .- Any miner who gives false testimony in any dispute or arbitration, or before any magistrate, or who i" convicted of stealing ore or any other thing, setting fire to the prairie or woods, eutting timber where it is prohib- ited, shall forfeit his permit to mine or dig, and no smelter shall purchase his ore or give him any employment.

Fourth .- When going to dig, two or more miners must work in company. They are permitted to stake off three hundred yards square, lines to be north and south and east and west.

Fifth .- A permanent post or stake shall be placed near every digging, with marks designating ownership.

Sixth .- A discontinuance of work for eight days in succession shall eause a forfeiture of ground.

Seventh .- When a dispute shall arise respecting the right to ground, the matter shall be arbitrated among miners- or smelters. On their failing to settle it, a reference shall be made to the agent, whose decision shall be final.

Eighth .- No person is permitted to build a cabin, oultivate land, cut timber or settle in any manner without written permission of the agent.

Ninth .- Whenever surveys of discovery are required, they will be surveyed twenty rods by forty, running to cardinal points, the length to correspond with the course of the lead, and the discoverer will be entitled to a certifi- cate of survey.

T'enth .- No miner shall hold two discoveries at the same time, nor shall any miner be permitted to go on other ground until his lead is dug out or sold, nor until he abandons it and renders up his certificate of survey.

Euventh .- All miners must report to the agent the name of the smelter to whom they deliver their mineral, and the amount they deliver in each quarter.

Twelfth .- No certificate of survey shall be sold or transferred to any other than a miner who has a written per- mit, or to a smelter who has a license ; and no survey or other diggings shall remain unwrought for more than eight days in succession, on penalty of forfeiture.

Thirteenth .- All mineral raised when searching for discoveries or leads must be delivered to a licensed smelter, and to no other person.

Fourteenth .- Any miner who shall disobey or go contrary to any of these regulations shall forfeit his permit to dig or mine ; and should he attempt to cut timber, mine, farm, cultivate land or build cabins without writtea per- mission from the agent, he will be prosecuted as a trespasser on United States land.

(Signed), M. THOMAS,

Lieutenant U. S. A. and Superintendent of Lead Mines.

FORM OF PERMIT TO MINERS.

is hereby permitted to dig or mine on United States land which is not leased or otherwise. rightfully occupied. He is not to set fire to the prairie grass or woods, and must deliver his mineral to a licensed smelter, and comply with all regulations.

Fever River, , 1825.

GENERAL REGULATIONS.

Smelters and lessees will have their ground on Fever River off two hundred yards in front on the river, and four hundred in depth, running in right lines prependicular to the river.

No timber to be cut within one hundred yards of Fever River bank, from one mile above its mouth to and one mile above the point where January's cabins are situated. M. THOMAS,

Lieutenant U. S. Army and Superintendent of Lead Mines.

Persons desirous of taking a lease are notified that bonds in the penalty $5,000, with two sureties, are required, when a lease for three hundred and twenty acres, as usual, will be granted, provided the ground is not occupied. Blank bonds may be had of the agent, who will make the survey when the bonds are given.

REGULATIONS FOR SMELTERS.

This agreement, made and entered into this day of 1825, between Lieut. M. Thomas, Super- intendent of the United States Lead Mines, and lead smelter,

Witnesseth : That the said is hereby permitted to purchase lead ore at the United States lead mines on the Upper Mississippi for one year from the date hereof, on the following conditions :

First .- No purchases of ore to be made from the location of any person without his consent in writing.

Third .- (The record was so made). To smelt with a Ing furnace or furnaces at all times, when one hundred thousand pounds of ore (or more) are on hand at any one furnace.

First .- No ore, ashes or zane to be purchased or otherwise acquired from any other person than an authorized miner or lessee.

Fourth .- To haul mineral to furnaces when fifty thousand pounds (or more) are dug at any one place of three hundred and twenty acres.

Fifth .- To run an ash furnace when four hundred (or more) thousand pounds of ore have heen smelted at any one set of furnaces.

Sixth .- To comply with all general regulations for cutting timber.

Seventh .- To keep books which shall contain an accurate and true account of all lead ore, ashes or zane purchased or dug, of all smelted, and of the amount of lead manufactured or purchased, from whom purchases were made, and from whence the ore was dug; said books to be open for inspection by the United States Agent of Mines, and & monthly transcript of the contents to be furnished to him, to be verified on oath if required.

Eighth .- To clean, or cause to be cleaned, all lead ore previous to smelting it, and to weigh a charge of the log furnace when required, and the lead made from such charges.

Ninth .- To pay to the United States a tax of one-tenth of all lead manufactured from ore, ashes or zane, to be- paid monthly, in clean, pure lead, to be delivered at the United States warehouse (near the mines), free of expense.

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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

Tenth .- To build a strong log warehouse, twenty by sixteen feet, one story high, the logs to be squared so as not to admit of a bar of lead being passed between them ; to have a strong door. with a good and sufficient lock ; to have a log ceiling in the usual manner ; said warehouse to be located at such place as the agent for mines shall direct, to he built free of expense to the United States.

Eleventh .- Not to employ in any manner whatever any miner, lessee or smelter who has forfeited his permit to dig, his lease or license, on written notice to that effect being given by the agent.

Twelfth .- A non-compliance or neglect of performance of any one of the foregoing articles to constitute a forfeiture of this license, and of the hond given for the faithful performance thereof; and on proof being offered to the agent of the United States that such forfeiture has heen incurred, his written notice to the smelter shall be sufficient to suspend the stipulations aforesaid.

Thirteenth .- No sale, transfer or shipment of lead is to be made hy said smelter, until all arrears or tax which are due are paid, nor any removal of lead from the place of manufacture, without the consent of the agent of the United States. The said ---- to be allowed wood and stone for smelting and furnaces, and to cultivate enough land to furnish his teams, etc., with provender and his people with vegetables.

It is distinctly understood that the bond given for the performance of the stipulation in this license, is to be in full force and virtue until all arrearages of rent or tax are paid to the agent of the United States, and a written settle- ment is made with him, on which a certificate that no such arrearages exist shall be given, when the hond shall be null and void.

The earliest permit recorded is as follows :

"John S. Miller, a blacksmith, has permission to occupy and cultivate United States land. He will comply with all regulations for the cutting of timber, etc. Twenty acres. Dated May 16, 1825. " (Signed) M. THOMAS," etc., etc.

The first recorded survey of mineral land was of five acres of mineral land (a discovery lot), two acres in length by one-quarter of an acre in breadth, lying and being on what is known as " January Patch Diggings," founded by "beginning at a stake on the north side of a rocky bluff," running to stakes in mounds to the place of beginning. This was a survey for Patrick Dugan and Barney Handley, dated Fever River, May 28, 1825, and signed Charles Smith, Acting Sub-Agent U. S. Lead Mines.

There is also recorded, June 21, 1825, a survey of 320 acres of mineral land on Apple River, for David G. Bates, the original field notes being taken July 2, 1823, signed John Anderson, Major U. S. Topographical Engineers, on Ordnance duty.

A copy of a bill of lading of May, 1825, shows that lead was transported from the Fever River to St. Louis for forty cents per hundred pounds.

According to the regulations, all disputes between the miners were settled by the U. S. Agent. The earliest account of these of which record now exists, is a " Record of Proceedings in the case of Dugan & Welsh and David Mitchell." Joseph Miller and Ebenezer Orne were witnesses for Dugan & Welsh ; and Joseph Hardy, Stephen Thrasher and William H. Smith for Mr. Mitchell. There were no lawyers to complicate matters. The witnesses stated what they knew in few words, and the case was summed up and adjudicated by Lieut. Thomas, who gave one-half the mineral dug on the disputed claim to Mitchell, " and it is considered that the other half is an ample compensation to Dugan & Welsh for the labor they bestowed on digging it. Their conduct was violent and quarrelsome, which will be utterly discountenanced at these mines. Mr. Charles Smith, Acting Sub-agent, will see this settlement carried into effect." Signed, M. Thomas, Lieutenant U. S. Army, Superintendent of Lead Mines, and dated May 21, 1825.

In the record of the proceedings in the case of Joseph Hardy vs. Ray, Orne & Smith, on the same day, Israel Mitchell testified that Col. Anderson stated that " Mr. Hardy was the oldest applicant for survey on the river."

The following extract from reports made by Charles Smith to his superior officers, are valu- able as showing the exact state of affairs at that time :

June 11, 1825 .- Hardy and Jackson are running an ash furnace ; Meeker is smelting in his log furnace ; Van Matre's ash furnace will be in operation to-day. Perfect harmony exists among the diggers. The regulations appear to give universal satisfaction. Every man appre- ciates the protection which they afford, and the security they give to their operations presents a stimulus to enterprise, and prevents encroachments upon the rights of others. The difficulty of borrowing or hiring a horse when wanted, has rendered necessary the purchase of one. I have

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, Part 61

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co. Number of Pages: 1044

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Co.
Number of Pages: 1044