USA > Wisconsin > Grant County > History of Grant County, Wisconsin, preceded by a history of Wisconsin > Part 54
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Duncan Range, a little way south of the Gillis, has given forth 1,500,000 pounds.
Messersmith Range produces only Smithsonite.
Missouri Range has produced 650,000 pounds, and has an annual product of 5,000.
Dutch Range was discovered in 1840. Some 200,000 pounds have been raised, and the products is about 5,000 annually.
Wilkinson and Cronin Ranges have given 300,000 pounds.
Smith Range produced 200,000 pounds, but is exhausted.
Big Patch Diggings put out 500,000 annually, divided among several parties, of whom Dixon & Coats represent four-fifths of the raise.
Hawkins, Thomas & Co. own the discovery on the southwest quarter of Section 31, Town 3, Range 1 west, made in 1872. The ore is blende, somewhat mixed with rock, and occurs in a flat sheet on the upper surface of the blue limestone. The sheet has in some places a thickness of five feet. It lies partially in the bed of a small stream.
BUNCOME DIGGINGS.
The Buncome Diggings form a subdistrict belonging to Hazel Green. They are situated on the Galena River, near the mouth of Bull Branch. They were formerly very productive diggings, and a few parties are still working in them. They are situated in the brown rock, which is the lowest bed of the Galena limestone, and is here from twenty to thirty feet thick, and extends down to the creek-bed at the State line, where the top of the blue limestone may be seen. At the mouth of the Bull Branch the top of the blue limestone is found to be twenty feet above the bed of the streamn. Mining is generally carried on here by drifting into the side of the hill. An example of this is seen on the land of Mr. Gabriel Mills, on the northwest quarter of Section 32, Township 1, Range 1 east, where a flat sheet of ore was found on the top of the brown rock, on which a number of short levels were run. Mr. Mills is now engaged in running a level on the top of the blue limestone from Section 32, westward, to prove the ground for blende, of which ore in small quantities has been occasionally found. The Buncome ground is also remarkable as being the only locality in which native sulphur appears in sheet form.
Carpenter &. Bennett .- These parties are mining on Mr. Mills' land, on the northeast quarter of Section 32, Township 1, Range 1 east, on the east side of the Galena River. The
365
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
workings are as usual in the brown rock, and produce some lead ore and large amounts of car- bonate of zinc and blende. Exactly how much could not be ascertained. They have worked continuously since 1872.
Hicks, Fiddick & Co .- Situated on the land of the Edwards estate, on the southwest quarter of Section 29, Township 1, Range 1 east. The diggings are about half a mile above the mouth of the Bull Branch, and are also carried on in the brown rock. They are drained by a level a quarter of a mile long, discharging one hundred gallons per minute, which was com- menced in 1868. The ore is found in flat and pitching sheets, and sometimes contains a little blende mixed with it. Twelve men are now employed here, and are producing a large amount of Smithsonite. Since the commencement of operations, about four hundred thousand pounds of lead ore have been produced.
Gabriel Mills Diggings .- This ground is on the northwest quarter of Section 29, Town- ship 1, Range 1 east, on the ridge dividing Bull and Hardscrabble Branches, and contained the large lode mentioned in Prof. Whitney's report of 1862, on pages 285 and 286. The ore was discovered here in 1854, and has been worked uninterruptedly ever since, which is somewhat remarkable, as a single range seldom continues uniformly productive through so many years. The property is owned by Mr. Mills and R. Pierce. The deepest shaft is 130 feet down to the brown rock, in which the ore is found in flat and pitching sheets. The ore from these diggings is always coated with pyrites, and some Smithsonite is found associated with it.
The ground has produced about eight million pounds of lead ore ; their present annual average production is about fifty thousand pounds, with no sign of diminution.
Simons & Sons .- Northeast quarter of northwest quarter of Section 32, Township 1, Range 1 east. A very fine prospect has recently been discovered by this party on Mr. G. Mill's land. They commenced work about the 1st of September, 1876, with a horse-pump. After sinking a shaft fourteen feet deep, a flat sheet six inches thick was discovered in the upper pipe clay opening. The sheet consists of lead ore, blende and pyrites, about half of the thickness being lead ore.
There are also several isolated ranges lying between Hazel Green and Benton, and not properly belonging to either district. They are as follows :
Johns & Harvey .- On the northeast quarter of Section 6, Township 1, Range 1 east. The range was struck in 1853. and was worked for some time with an engine and pump, and then abandoned. Work was recommenced by Messrs. Johns & Harvey, in 1869, and they are now working on the water-level at a depth of one hundred and ten feet below the surface, in the middle portion of the Galena limestone. The range bears slightly north of west, and makes ore in tumbling openings, mixed with clay and detached masses of stone. The opening is in some places twenty feet wide, but does not correspond in geological positien with any of the Hazel Green openings, as it is rather above them. Work was suspended here in the fall of 1874. Their production to that time was 900,000 pounds of lead ore.
Dawson's Diggings are situated on the southeast quarter of Section 32, Township 2, Range 1 east. The general course of the range is east and west, but it is found to pitch in various directions. They are worked about thirty feet below the surface, in the upper measures of the Galena limestone. They were discovered in 1872. Since then, they have been worked contin- uously. and have produced 80,000 pounds.
Drybone Diggings .- South west quarter of Section 28, Township 2, Range 1 east. Mining for drybone has now been carried on here by George Hoppenjohn for the last ten years. The diggings are known as the " Bone Patch," and are very shallow, not exceeding twelve or fifteen feet in depth. The Smithsonite occurs in bunches as float, and does not make any regular sheet or opening. The amount produced is about fifty tons per annum.
Burney Kesson's Diggings are situated about a quarter of a mile southwest of the preced- ing, on the same quarter-section. Work is suspended in them during the summer seasons. They are quite productive diggings, and have yielded 50,000 pounds of lead ore per annum for sev- eral years.
366
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
Anthony &. Dixon's Diggings-Southeast quarter of Section 21, Township 2, Range 1 east. These diggings are about a quarter of a mile south of the village of Jenkinsville, and are worked altogether for blende, although the ore contains a little drybone and lead ore. They are on the top of the blue limestone, in which a level is now being run, and is completed a distance of two hundred feet. The ore is very close grained, shows no regular cleavage, and somewhat resembles an ore of iron. It is remarkable by being intersected with thin parallel plates or laminæ of galenite lying very close together, presenting reflecting edges and being a constituent part of the ore. The deposit was discovered in 1872, and has been worked continuously since. The pro- duction has been 180 tons of blende and 10,000 pounds of lead ore per annum.
Kesting, Hines and others .- A short distance southeast of the preceding, on the same quarter-section, are three parties at work on some drybone diggings. There are here several quartering ranges having a southwest course. The Smithsonite lies from fifteen to sixty-five feet below the surface, and in the lower measures of the Galena limestone. It " makes " in flats, sheets, and pitches without much regularity. The ground has been worked about ten years for drybone. The average annual production has been about 225 tons.
Spensley, Winn g. Co .- Situated about a quarter of a mile southwest of Meeker Grove post office. The above parties have been working here about five years. The ore is found in an irregular flat sheet in the upper pipe clay opening. This ground has been worked at intervals during the last twenty years. The water is removed by a horse-pump. The production of the last two years is as follows: 1875, blende, 300 tons, lead ore, 20,000 pounds; 1876 to October 1, blende, 400 tons, lead ore, 20,000 pounds.
Greenwood &. Miller .- Southeast quarter of Section 7, Town 1, Range 1 east. This is an east-and-west range, discovered by Cook twenty-five years since. The present parties became in- terested in it in 1871. Five shafts, from seventy to ninety feet deep, have now been sunk, and two drifts, of 300 feet each, have been run. The ore is found here in a crevice opening, sometimes twelve feet high. The width of the opening is quite variable, as it is crossed by numerous north- and-south crevices, which usually cause it to expand in width. Bunches of ore are found at the crossings, but no regular sheets. The water is removed from the ground by two horse-pumps of twelve-inch bore, six-feet stroke, which pump about ninety gallons per minute. It is estimated that the ground has produced 1,000,000 pounds of ore, and its present annual product is about 300,000 pounds.
NEW DIGGINGS DISTRICT.
Considerable lead ore is now being raised in the vicinity of new Diggings, being mostly in the ridge immediately south of the village. The following section taken from the mines south of the village will give a correct idea of the relative position of the several beds and openings :
Feet.
Inches.
Soil and clay
14
Galena limestone.
60
...
Flint bed.
1
2
Shale
...
First opening (sometimes called crevice opening).
5
...
Limestone cap.
2
...
Second opening (sometimes called flat opening).
5
...
Flinty rock.
9
...
Third opening (this is the principal flat opening)
4
..
Galena limestone.
4
...
" Putty bed ".
3
Galena limestone.
1
8
Fourth opening.
6
...
Galena limestone
50
...
Flint opening
3
...
Brown rock to top of Blue limestone
13
...
Total
178
3
...
2
Champion Diggings .- Northeast quarter of Section 26, Town 1, Range 1 east, on the New Diggings ridge. There are several ranges here having a general east-and-west course, one of
367
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
which, known as Champion's old lode, has probably yielded more than any single range in the lead region. This and the other ranges owned by Mr. Champion are drained by a level a half a mile long. This was completed in the year 1865, at an expense of about $70,000. It then drained the ground, and in four years, with the labor of eight men, 5,000,000 pounds of ore were taken out, which sold for about $500,000. This ore was contained in an immense open- ing; in some places forty feet wide by twenty-five feet high. This principal opening is now worked out, but the range still continues productive, and has been worked uninterruptedly for the last ten years. Average product per year, 85,000 pounds. Work is now being carried on south of the old ranges. At the western end, in the Meyers lot, a shaft has been sunk seventy- three feet to the first opening, which is here about ten feet high and from twenty to thirty feet wide. There are here three parallel crevices, one of which is about eight feet wide. Seven- teen men are now employed in the Champion Diggings. Mining is carried on continuously, and the annual product is about 200,000 pounds,
Craig Diggings are situated in the New Diggings ridge, on the northeast quarter of Sec- tion 26 and northwest quarter of Section 25, Township 1, Range 1 east. There are here three principal east-and-west ranges, a few feet apart. The ore which is now worked is known as the Simpson pump range. These ranges were discovered in 1834. In the spring of 1874, a shaft was sunk on one of them, and they are now worked in the second opening. They produce only lead ore, found in a flat opening which is one hundred feet wide, and has been worked to a length of one hundred and fifty feet. They are worked only in the winter, and produce 40,000 pounds per annum.
Craig, Sanders & Campbell .- Work was commenced by this party in the fall of 1874, on the east end of the Simpson pump range. The mining is carried on in the first opening. The product has been 258,000 pounds, the greater part of which was produced in the year 1876. The extreme west end of this range has been worked by Craig, Stephens & White during the past year, but has not yet produced anything.
Craig Level Company .- A company consisting of several persons residing in New Diggings and the adjacent towns, and representing an extensive capital, have been engaged for several years in running a level on the south side of the New Diggings ridge, for the purpose of un- watering the extensive east-and-west ranges on and near the summit of the ridge. It is already so far advanced that it has lowered the water in the mine several feet, sufficient to admit of the production of enough lead ore to more than defray its expenses. Mining is now carried on in pump range, the Mitchell range and several others; the company are making several " cross- cut drifts" for the purpose of prospecting their ground. The mining operations of the Craig Level Company have been very productive of lead ore. The amounts produced previous to 1874, could not be ascertained. During the year 1873, it was 70,000 pounds, and from March, 1874, to October 1, 1876, the product was 2,075,470 pounds.
Brown, Dodge & Co .- This party, consisting of four men, have been working in the west end of the Mitchell Range, on land owned by Col. S. Scales. The product has been 10,400 pounds, all raised within the last year.
Harper, Hird &. Co .- Situated in the New Diggings ridge, a short distance west of the Craig Diggings, on two east-and-west ranges, known respectively as the Wiley and Engine, on which the water has been reduced about four feet by the Craig level. They were quite large ranges, and were extensively worked many years since. Work was resumed on them by the above parties in February, 1873. Since then the product has been 303,000 pounds. The crevice of the Engine Range is here about three feet wide, and the ore makes in the first opening ; while on the Wiley Range the crevice is ten feet wide, and the ore makes in the crevice and not in the opening. The ground is owned by Col. Sam Scales.
The existence of lead and zinc ore in the upper pipe clay opening (upper surface of the blue limestone) is also known at New Diggings. A mining company, known as the Occidental, was in operation in 1873, by whom a level had been run on this opening, which resulted in the discovery of a flat sheet of blende or lead ore.
-
368
HISTORY OF TIIE LEAD REGION.
Catchall Diggings .- Northwest quarter of Section 30, Township 1, Range 2 east. These diggings have in former years produced large quantities of ore; exactly how much, could not be ascertained. After lying idle for some years, work was resumed on them in 1870 by S. and C. Vickers, J. and T. Peacock and John Henry. They were worked for a year with a horse pump, and after that with a steam pump, the former having been insufficient to remove the water. There are here two north-and south ranges crossed by several cast-and-west ranges, which produced blende and lead ore. The pump shaft is located in one of these crossings, and is forty-eight feet deep. A series of levels was run from here to the New Diggings Ridge, by which it was ascertained that the top of the ridge was on a level with the bottom of the shaft. which shows that the openings existing at this place are above those at New Diggings, and probably near the middle of the Galena limestone. The Catchall Diggings ceased being worked in January, 1873. The pump and engine still remain on the ground. The product during the three years of working is said to have been 2,000,000 pounds.
Howe & Alderson .- Southeast quarter of Section 15, Township 1, Range 1 east. This ground is situated a short distance north of the Democrat furnace, and belongs to the Leakley estate. The range was discovered and worked about 1847, and work was resumed on it by the present parties about fourteen years since (1862). The general course of the range is east and west ; the extent of the drifts is from three hundred to four hundred feet, in the course of which five flat openings and one crevice opening have been found. The flat openings are not far above the blue limestone. There are eight shafts going down to the openings from thirty to eighty feet deep. The ore is generally small, with wash dirt ; but little large or "chunk mineral " is found. The diggings are entirely free from water. During the past fourteen years they have produced about one million pounds. Work was suspended here about January 1, 1876.
John Rain &. Co .- Southeast quarter of Section 31, Township 1, Range 1 east. The land is owned by Messrs. Hodge & Scales and the Field estate. The course of the range is north 5º east. It is known as the Raspberry range from the name of the man who discovered it in 1849, and sometimes as the Dinsell range. The workings are all in the first of the New Dig- gings opening, although the second has also been reached. There are five shafts down to the opening, and about five hundred feet of drift. The opening is quite variable in size, and is sometimes as much as thirty feet wide. The ore occurs as wash dirt, although large pieces are occasionally found. The diggings have been worked for lead ore during the last seven years, since which time Messrs. Rain & Co. have taken out as follows: 1871, 50,000 pounds; 1872, 100,000 ; 1873, 75,000; 1874, 75,000. The product for 1875-76 was not learned, but the mine is now productive.
DIGGINGS ON THE LEAKLEY ESTATE.
Robbins & Bros .- Four men have been employed here during the last year, working an east-and-west range with a horse pump. The amount raised is not known, but it is understood that the ground yields enough ore to pay good wages.
Hall & Rain .- Southeast quarter of Section 23, Township 1, Range 1 east. This is a new east-and-west range on the Leakley estate, discovered in 1873. The ore occurs in a crevice opening from forty to forty-five feet below the surface. Four shafts have been sunk in it, and one drift ran a distance of 400 feet. About one hundred and nineteen thousand pounds have been produced since they were discovered. Work was suspended in 1876.
E. Ashworth Diggings-Southeast quarter of Section 24, Township 1, Range 1 east. This is an east-and-west range in the Leakley estate, discovered in the fall of 1873. The workings at this place are confined by water to the first opening, which is here crossed by numerous quar- tering swithers from four to six feet apart. The crossings are the most productive parts of the opening, and the ore frequently comes up to the surface clay. At the time they were visited (June, 1874), five shafts had been sunk about thirty-five feet deep. One of the drifts was about one hundred feet long, and there were several of fifty feet each. The product to that time was 4,000 pounds of lead ore and fifteen tons of drybone. They have been working continuously since, producing small amounts.
369
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
Phoenix Lead Mining and Smelting Company .- Section 13, Township 1, Range 1 east. A great deal of mining has been carried on here since a very early day, and the ground has been very productive of ore. The principal vein, which is known as the Ellis sheet, was discov- ered by a miner of that name about thirty-five years since. Its course is north twenty degrees east, and it has been worked for a distance of about half a mile. The workings so far have been confined to the Galena limestone, of which there is a thickness of one hundred and fifty feet at the pump-shaft at the summit ridge. This shaft has been sunk to a depth of one hundred and fifteen feet, leaving thirty-five feet of the formation unexplored, exclusive of the underlying Trenton limestones, which have here a thickness of about fifty feet. The sheet of ore is nearly perpendicular, and varies from two to eightcen inches in thickness as deep as the shafts were sunk. The same system of surface mining obtained here as at other places, by means of which the ore was extracted down to the natural water level but a short distance below the surface, leaving the main body of the ore untouched. In this manner, more than 2,500,000 pounds of lead ore were obtained. In the year 1865, a level was commenced with a view to drain the ground, and was prosecuted with slight intermission until 1872. Its present length is one thou- sand seven hundred feet, and when completed it will drain the ground to a depth of one hundred and thirty-five feet. Several other large east-and-west ranges traverse this ground, among which are the Bobineau and the Dowd and McGinnis, on the west half of the southeast quarter of Sec- tion 14, Township 1, Range 1 east, which have yielded heretofore not less than 3,000,000 pounds.
SHULLSBURG DISTRICT.
Stopline Diggings .- The property is situated on the northwest quarter of Section 28, northeast quarter of Section 29 and southeast quarter of Section 20, all in Township 1, Range 3 east. Although the mine is not in operation, it is in a condition to be worked on very short notice. The following information in regard to it was obtained from the owner, Mr. Edward Meloy, and personal inspection of the ground : Nearly, if not quite, the entire thickness of Galena limestone is present at this locality. The northern outcrop of the Cincin- nati group is about a mile to the southwest. The pump-shaft has been sunk in a natural chim- ney to a depth of one hundred and twelve feet below the surface, and has now reached what is known as the green bed or cap of the Shullsburg opening. The water was removed by an engine and lifting-pump discharging five hundred gallons per minute. All the water came up in the shaft through the chimney. While the pump was in operation, two springs, situated respect- ively one-half mile east and northwest of the shaft, ceased to flow. There are two principal ranges here-one bearing north thirty degrees east from the pump-shaft, and worked for a dis- tance of eight hundred feet northeast of the shaft, and the other bearing north ten degrees east, about one hundred and forty feet west of the shaft, worked about five hundred feet, connected by a quartering range running north of east.
These ranges were struck in 1863 and worked until 1869, and are thought to be a contin- uation of the Shullsburg elevator ranges. Two shafts sunk on the range, bearing north thirty degrees east, have turned out one thousand pounds to the foot without any drifting, and the whole tract, within an area which would be embraced within three acres of ground, has produced about 600,000 pounds. In every shaft from which ore has been raised, the indications of large bodies below are very strong.
A very peculiar formation was found in sinking on the north thirty degrees east range. Commencing at a depth of thirty-five feet from the surface, a hard, brecciated limestone sets in, filled with pyrites, and, in some cases, with galenite. This formation continues as deep as the shafts were sunk. This was not found on other ranges in this locality, and is a mode of oceur- rence peculiar to one range.
The breccia consists of small, angular limestone, similar to the adjacent rock of the forma- tion. It appears to have been caused by the undermining and falling-in of a portion of the formation, by a previous subterranean drainage. The rubbing and grinding of the sides of the
370
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
fissure against each other in the course of the movement broke off pieces of various sizes, and the interstices and cavities were subsequently filled with pyrites.
McNulty Mine .- In June: 1873, work was recommenced in these old ranges, and consid- erable capital expended in erecting new machinery and buildings, the old ones having been burned. It is now owned and operated by Messrs. J. M. Ryan, of Galena, and M. A. Fox, of Shullsburg. . The mine is situated on the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 15, Township 1, Range 2 east, a short distance south of the village of Shullsburg. There is here a thickness of about two hundred feet of Galena limestone, or four-fifths of the entire formation. The ore is o! ined .in the usual opening common to all the mines of the Shullsburg district, between what ai -- known as the green and clay beds, of which the green bed is re- garded as the top and the clay bed as the bottom of the opening. In this mine the following strat- tigraphical information was obtained : Five fes, below the clay bed and one hundred and fifty feet below the surface is an opening and : bed of white rock two feet thick, then a layer (f hard, gray rock, three feet thick .. Below this was found a flat sheet of galenite, mixed with pyrites, and indications of openings 1. low. It is a peculiarity of the mining ground in this ridge that all crevices south of the Shullsburg branch pitch or dip to the south, about six inches in ten feet, until the summit of the ridge is reached. Here, as in the south shaft of the McNulty, the crevices are vertical. In this shaft the crevice penetrates through the clay floor and continues on going down, being the only crevice which has done so. Proceeding further south, over the crest of the ridge, the crevices all pitch or dip to the north. Taken together, this system of crevices seems to present a fan-like shape, approaching one another as they descend.
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