History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 49

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?]
Number of Pages: 1050

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HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.

to the remaining series of limestones-the Trenton, Galena and Niagara-in this respect, and so close our necessarily imperfect resume. The Trenton layer is usually thin but evenly bedded, not highly valued by builders, but sometimes utilized for laying in wall. Galena and Niagara limestones permit of a much larger variety of uses, and, in Eastern Wisconsin, the last-named layer supplies a white stone, very compact and enduring, easily worked and capable of a high finish. It is not easy to estimate the millions of men who will find homes in this State within the next century, as the reward of enterprise and well-applied labor in the development of its mineral resources.

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

THE MINERAL DISTRICT IN DETAIL.

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

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

In 1834, Mr. G. W. Featherstonhaugh began the first survey of the district lying between the Missouri River and Red River of the North, and the upper part of the valley of the Missis- sippi and the mining districts adjacent to that river. The survey was completed in 1835, under the patronage of the General Government. Another survey was made by the Government in 1839. Dr. D. D. Owen was the geologist in charge of the latter exploration, but the magnitude of the task prohibited a minute examination of this region. In 1853, Prof. E. Daniels pub- lished a pamphlet concerning the geology of the lead region, under the auspices of the State of Wisconsin. Dr. J. G. Percival was the next scientist to prepare a report, but his labors were cut short by death, May 2, 1856. Upon the death of Dr. Percival, Profs. James Hall, E. S. Carr and E. Daniels were appointed, and, in 1858, Prof. Daniels issued a report on the iron ores of the State. In 1862, Profs. Hall and Whitney published the largest report that had up to that date been presented, about three-quarters of the work being given to the lead region. Rev. John Murrish issued a smaller report in 1872. In 1873, the late Moses Strong, Assistant State Geologist, was instructed to prepare a report covering points not touched on by previous surveyors, and, during that and the succeeding year, responded to the request. From these volumes, but mainly from the report of Mr. Strong, the following facts are compiled.

DEATH OF MOSES STRONG.

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

The following notice is taken from the Wisconsin State Journal of February 4, 1878 :

"In his annual report of the Wisconsin Geological Survey, just issued from the press of the State Printer, Prof. T. C. Chamberlin, Chief Geologist, has taken occasion to commemorate,

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in most fit and appreciative terms, the virtues and qualities of one of his associates in the survey, the late Moses Strong, who lost his life in the service of the State, and for his devotion to the cause of scientific discovery and research. The faculty to win at once the respect of those who became associated with him was one of the marked, peculiar and shining qualities of Mr. Strong's character ; and the more intimate became the association, the higher the admira- ·tion for his genius, and the more enduring the impression of the sterling attributes of his mind and heart. Those who knew him best will be the most ready to second, and the most sincerely to indorse the high and deserved panegyric which his associate, in such apt and felicitous words, has pronounced upon him. In the opening of the report, a circumstantial account of the mournful accident by which Mr. Strong lost his life is given, which we republish."

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

STEVENS POINT, August 15, 1877.

DEAR CHAMBERLIN : I leave here to-morrow morning, and, on account of very low water, I find it necessary to make the trip up the North Fork of the Flambeau first, and thence down the South Fork to Fifield.

You may send letters to me to Fifield Station, W. C. R. R., care of the Station Agent, via Stevens Point. Very truly yours, MOSES STRONG.

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

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

" They commenced the ascent of the Flambeau on Saturday morning, and continued it for nine or ten miles without any remarkable incident, until nearly 3 o'clock P. M., when they came to some rapids, supposed to be in Section 28, Township 41, Range 1 east. The rapids were about one hundred and fifty feet from the foot to the head. The bed of the river was fi 'ed with numerous rocks, over and about which the water rushed rapidly. 'Sailor Jack' took the Icad, in the bark canoe and its freight, followed by Mr. Strong and young Gundry, in the cedar skiff. Jack had reached the head of the rapids, or nearly so, as the others were entering upon the ascent. Mr. Strong was standing in the bow of the skiff, using a long, light pole for propelling it, while Gundry was sitting in the stern, using the oars for the same purpose. Near the foot of the rapids was a rock, past which they pushed the skiff far enough so that the current struck its bow and turned it around the rock in such a manner that the whole force of the current, strik- ing it broadside, turned it over. As it was going over, Mr. Strong jumped from it into the water, and stood upon a rock in the bed of the river, over which the water was three and a half feet deep, and came up to his waist. Immediately below the rock where he was standing and holding on to the skiff, the water was twelve feet deep, into which Mr. Gundry went as the

ff upset. At that instant he hollowed to Mr. Strong, 'I can't swim,' who replied, 'Hold to the boat.' Gundry held on at first, but, in attempting to get a better hold, or in some way, lost his hold of the boat and was carried into the water, into which he was sinking. Simultane- ously, the skiff went down the stream, and Mr. Strong left his position of comparative safety, and was immediately in the deep water, and sunk to the bottom of it, to rise no more.

" Why he left the place where he was standing, and let the boat go, is a matter of con- jecture. One theory is, that he slipped and could stand there no longer; but this is not as

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probable as is the theory of the men who were engaged in searching for his body, which is, that as soon as he saw that his friend Gundry had lost his hold of the boat and was sinking. he threw himself into the water, in the vain (as it proved) effort to save his companion from drown- ing. He was a good swimmer, very self-confident and self-reliant, and would not have been likely to apprehend any disaster to himself in the efforts to save his friend, and if he had, the apprehension would not have deterred him.

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

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

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

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

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

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

As an appropriate, yet most sad and mournful appendix to the report, Prof. Chamberlin has added the following :

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The year 1876 was chiefly devoted to the copper-bearing series in the northwestern part of the State.

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

Of his investigations in connection with the survey, I need not speak. "Let his works praise him."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

After giving a statement of the events connected with his earlier life and education, the report concludes as follows :

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

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

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

THE DRIFTLESS AREA.

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

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

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

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History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin, Part 49

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899 Publication date: 1881 Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?] Number of Pages: 1050

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: [Chicago : Western Historical Co.?]
Number of Pages: 1050