USA > Wisconsin > Lafayette County > History of Lafayette county, Wisconsin > Part 63
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Henry . Magrow.
DARLINGTON.
417
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
the "Five Leagues Square." In this connection, the following letter and orders will be of interest, whatever may have been the primary cause of the Indians' ill-will :
UNITED STATES LEAD MINING OFFICE, Fever River, June 30, 1827.
To MR. ELIJAH FERGUSON, NOW MINING ON THE PECALOTEA :
Sir-It is doubtful whether you are within the limits of the country which the United States, by treaty with the Pottawatomies, etc., have a right to explore for mining purposes. Under this circumstance, you will not remove further toward Rock River. Should you prefer to remain where you now are, you are at present at liberty to do so, with the express understanding, however, that should that part of the country be eventually decided to belong to the Winnebagoes, you remove when duly notified of the fact from this office.
I am, sir, your obedient servant,
(Signed) M. THOMAS, Lieut. U. S. A., Superintendent U. S. Lead Mines.
CIRCULAR TO SMELTERS.
U. S. LEAD MINING OFFICE, Galena, October 1, 1827.
SIRS-You are hereby directed to desist from working over the Ridge, and to employ no force whatever, either in hauling or smelting any material that may have been, or in the future may be, raised there. Also to make nc purchases of said mineral from any digger. CHARLES SMITH.
By order of Lieut. Thomas, Superintendent of Lead Mines.
On the same date miners were notified that they had no right to go beyond said ridge for the purpose of mining, and were ordered to suspend all further operations until further orders from the Superintendent.
On the 8th of October, 1827, an order was issued directing all discoveries of lead to be reported to the Lead Mining Office, Galena. On the 15th of November, 1827, the following persons, having struck leads prior to the 3d of July, 1827, beyond the ridge, were licensed to dig or work them out without interruption, but no others were to be allowed to mine beyond the ridge under any circumstances whatever : Cabanal, for Ewing & Co .; Stevens, for Kirker & Ray ; Riche, for Winkle ; Elijah Ferguson, Hawthorn & Deviese ; Carroll, for Dickson ; Stevenson, transferred to Blanchard ; Gillespie & Hymer ; Stevens & Co. ; George Ames' sur- vey, Moore & Watson, sold to Blanchard ; Foster & Hogan.
July 2, 1847, Lieut. Thomas granted a permit to M. C. White to " burn one lime of kiln [kiln of lime] above the mouth of Small-Pox [creek]." On the same day, Mr. Comstock had permission to cut fifty large trees for building logs, near the large mound south of Mr. Gratiot's survey. Arbitrations were ordered between McKnight and Ewen Boyer & Co., on Mackey's survey, and between Jacob Himer and Will Baker, to take place on the 7th.
NOTICE.
There will not, for the present, be any town laid off at the Old Turkey Village, commonly called Grant River Town. All persons are hereby forewarned from building cabins or houses there, except such licensed smelters who may locate in that vicinity, and such smelters will first obtain a special permission. M. THOMAS, Lieut. U. S. Army, Supt. U. S. Lead Mines.
FEVER RIVER, July 13, 1827.
August 14, 1827, a permit was granted to Messrs. D. G. Bates, V. Jefferson and Hemp- sted to make a wharf, or landing, in front of their houses and lots, provided such landing is at all times free to public use ; no building to be placed upon it.
On the 8th of August, 1827, Michael Dee was convicted by arbitration of having stolen certain articles, the property of Thomas Williams, and all smelters and miners on Fever River forbidden to harbor said Dee or give him any employment.
This is the first conviction for theft of which record remains.
McKnight left no records, except a few recorded permits ; and, except the two volumes from which the above extracts have been made, there are no records of the transactions of the Lead Mines Agency accessible, unless they are preserved in the War Department at Washington, and a letter to that department, asking for information, has failed to elicit a reply.
The only entries to be found of date later than 1827, are a code of regulations for miners. dated April, 1833, and signed Thomas C. Legate, Captain Second Infantry, Superintendent U. S. Mines, and another and shorter code, dated October, 1840, signed by H. King. Special Agent U. S. Lead Mines, in which miners were required to pay not to exceed 6 per cent of the ore, or its equivalent in metal, to the United States.
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418
HISTORY OF TIIE LEAD REGION.
Under Lieut. Thomas' administration, Charles Smith and Thomas McKnight were Resi- dent Sub-Agents at Galena. About 1828, the agency was removed to a log building there recently erected under permit, by Barney Dignan, on the southwest corner of Main and Wash- ington streets.
In 1829, the office was in the first building above Mr. Barnes' boarding-house, on the upper (Bench) street, and in later time, and until discontinued, the office of the Superintendent was in Newhall's building, southwest corner of Hill and Main streets.
In 1829, Lieut. Thomas was succeeded by Capt. Thomas C. Legate, Second Infantry, under whom Capt. John H. Weber was Assistant Superintendent. Maj. William Campbell, Col. A. G. S. Wight and R. H. Bell were also connected with the office. In November, 1836, Capt. Weber's signature as Superintendent appears of record, and it is probable that he was appointed about that time.
As previously shown, under the old system, which generally prevailed until 1836, diggers were permitted to sell their mineral only to licensed smelters, and the Government collected the rents (10 per cent until 1830, and 6 per cent subsequently, delivered at the United States warehouse, in Galena) of the smelters. The prices paid to miners were made with that fact in view. In 1827, as clearly indicated by the letter from Lieut. Thomas to E. Ferguson, and sub- sequent orders, the diggers and some of the smelters were operating on lands not owned or con- trolled by the United States, in some instances, having the permission of the Indians and paying them for the privilege, and in more cases, probably, trespassing on their domain. It had begun to dawn upon the people that five leagues square comprised only a very small portion of the lands rich in mineral wealth, and it was not possible for the Government agents to prevent dig- ging for mineral outside the limits of the reservation, over which, only, could the United States exercise control. The Superintendent of the United States Mines had no authority to grant permits on Indian territory. He could forbid such tresspass, but it would require a military force to prevent mining beyond the limits of the reservation, provided the diggers obtained the consent of the native owners. It was plain that the Government could rightfully collect rent only of those who obtained their mineral within the recognized limits of the " five league square." The agent could not fully demand any of the lead obtained beyond the limits of the reservation, and this.led to difficulty. It was unjust to pay rent to the Indians and to pay it again to the United States, nor could the agent collect rent even if it had been surreptitiously obtained. Some of the smelters, and especially those operating on Indian lands, either with or without the permission of the natives, or buying mineral from diggers operating beyond the jurisdiction of the agent, began to refuse to pay rent, alleging that, as they obtained lead from Indian lands and were not protected by the Government, they were under no obligation to pay. The agent was placed in an embarrassing position. They were obtaining mineral on the public lands, but they were also obtaining it on lands over which the United States exercise no control, he had no means of determining the amount actually due the Government, and therefore could not enforce payment of any. This refusal became more general until the unauthorized sale of the mineral lands in Wisconsin, in 1834, and subsequently by the Register of the Land Office at Mineral Point (called " Shake-rag" in early mining days), who, in violation of his express instructions, permitted a large number of the diggings actually worked to be entered. Many miners were thus outrageously defrauded, and their rights were disregarded. From that time they declined taking leases, and the lead office gradually fell into practical disuse. Capt. Weber remained as agent until about 1840, but his agency was purely nominal. The regulations were not enforced, smelters paid no rent, and there was a season of freedom from Governmental supervision. In 1840, however, an at- tempt was made to revive the office. H. King, special agent, was sent to the mines, probably to investigate Weber's loose manner of doing business, or rather his neglect of business. " With Mr. King," says Mr Houghton, "or very nearly the same time, came John Flanagan."
A letter from Capt. W. B. Green, who was familiar with the events of that period, contains the following information : " The Lead Mine Agency was suspended for several years prior to 1841. After the inauguration of President Harrison, in 1841, the agency was revived and Flanagan
419
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
appointed Superintendent-revived, probably, to give Flanagan the appointment. Previous to the suspension of the agency, the royalty to the Government was paid by the miners through the smelters. After the revival of the agency under Flanagan, the attempt was made to collect the royalty directly from the miners. The attempt was only a partial success, as the miners generally refused or evaded the payment. During the suspension of the agency, through affidavits gotten up (as affidavits can be to prove anything when taken ex-parte), a bill was lobbied through Congress, giving one of the early smelters a large sum of money for royalty paid by him on mineral reported to have been taken from Indian lands outside the original purchase. This established a precedent, of which most of the other smelters availed themselves, and in a similar manner had large sums voted them-in the aggregate, it may be, amounting to more than all the royalty received by the Government from the mines. The truth is, there was but a very inconsiderable amount taken from the Indian lands prior to the purchase of the lands south of the Wisconsin River, in the winter of 1827-28. What little there was, should, of right, have been paid to the Indians, or, ignoring their right, it should have been paid to the miners who actually paid it, as the smelters took the royalty into account when they purchased the mineral and deducted it from the value thereof,"
Mr. King remained but a short time, Weber was removed or superseded, and Flanagan left in charge with instructions to enforce the regulations established by Mr. King.
About the same time Walter Cunningham, who, says Mr. Houghton, had been appointed to investigate the Superior copper mines, returned from a tour through that region and estab- lished himself here with Flanagan. From this time, the regulations required the miners to pay the rent " not to exceed 6 per cent of the ore or its equivalent in metal," but in practice, it is said, the rent that was collected was generally paid through the smelters, as formerly.
Flanagan, his associate, Cunningham, and a clerk named Couroddy, by their associations and habits rendered themselves exceedingly odious to the people. Flanagan commenced a large number of suits against individuals for arrears of rent, and compromised them for what he could get in cash, but, it is said, made no returns to the Government of his collections-defrauding the people and the Government at the same time. He was accustomed to say to the people that the " Government must be paid first," and his arrogant declaration to smelters and others that "I am the Government," sufficiently indicates his character and the disposition he made of his col- lections. If he was "the Government," there was no necessity of making returns to anybody, and none were known to be made by him. Complaints of his high-handed proceedings reached Washington, and in 1843, Mr. Wann states, Capt. - Bell, stationed at St. Louis, was ordered by the Secretary of War to Galena, to investigate Flanagan's administration. He came, but re- mained but a few days, dismissed Flanagan and placed Maj. Thomas Mellville, of Galena, in charge of the office, temporarily, until reports could be made to the War Department, and a Superintendent should be appointed. The next year, 1844, according to the best information to be obtained, John G. Floyd, of Virginia, was appointed to the office. Mr. Floyd made an effort to enforce the collection of rent, and in some measure succeeded, but was removed in 1845, at the instance of Hon. Joseph P. Hoge, then member of Congress for this (then Sixth) District, and James A. Mitchel was appointed as his successor, who remained until the office was finally discontinued, about 1847, when the lands were thrown into the market. Practically, however, the office was little more than nominal after the resignation of Capt. Legate, in 1836. Under the pre-emption law, a large amount of mineral lands had been entered. Settlers were required to make oath that no mineral was being dug on the lands they desired to enter, and this re- quirement was easily evaded.
The people generally considered the agency as an imposition, and it was impossible to secure the implicit obedience to the rule of the superintendent that obtained in the days of Thomas and Legate. The experiment of reviving the office was not a success. The Govern- ment found upon trial that, instead of being a source of revenue, the management of the lead mines produced constant drafts upon the Treasury, and at last, after the settlers had petitioned in vain for years, early in the session of 1846-47, Congress authorized the sale of the lands. A
420
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
receiver was appointed, and by the 5th day of April, 1847, says Seymour, "land to the amount of $127,700 had been sold at minimum prices, $1.25 per acre for farming, and $2.50 per acre for mineral lands, and the days of governmental supervision or ownership of the lead mines ended.
The amount of lead shipped from various ports on the Mississippi, principally from Galena, for nine years prior to the discovery of gold in 1849, and the estimated value thereof, is as follows :
1841-31,696,980 pounds, valued at $3 per hundred. $950,909 40
Small bars and shot valued at. 31,433 50
Total. $082,342 90
.
1842-31,407,530 pounds at $2.75@$3 per hundred. $ 746,296 46
1843-39,461,171 pounds at $2.37} per hundred. 937,202 00
1844-43,722,070 pounds at $2.82} per hundred. 1,235,148 47
1845-54,492,200 pounds at $3.00 per hundred. 1,634,766 00
1846-51,268,200 pounds at $2.90 per hundred
1,486,778 09
1847-54,085,920 pounds at $8.00 per hundred. 1,622,577 60
1848-47,737,830 pounds at $3.50 per hundred 1,670,824 95
1849-44,025,380 pounds at $3.62} per hundred. 1,595,920 02
In 1849, the gold discoveries in California disturbed " the even balance of ordinary busi- ness operations" in the lead-mining district. The tide of immigration that had been directed to this region, was diverted to the Pacific Coast, and a large number of miners and business men, dazzled by the glitter of California gold, left to seek their fortunes on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. Large amounts of real estate, covered by valuable improvements, were forced into market and sold at nominal prices, to obtain the means wherewith to remove to California. Enormous rates were paid for money, and a large amount of capital was withdrawn from the usual channels of trade ; improvements commenced or contemplated, were suspended or delayed, and the heavy emigration from the lead to the gold mining region was seriously felt. A large number of men usually engaged in prospecting, and by whom new and important discoveries had been constantly made, were no longer here, and operations were principally confined for a time to old "leads." But in compensation for this, the price of mineral advanced to $28 per thousand (it had at some periods been as low as $8 or $9, and was seldom higher than $22), and this advance caused operations to be renewed in diggings that had been abandoned as too unpro- ductive to be remunerative. Writing in 1850, in discussing the effect of the " gold fever," Mr. Seymour says : " Although lead is one of the baser metals, and does not strike the imagi- nation like pure gold dug from the bowels of the earth, yet it immediately becomes gold in the pockets of the miner, for nothing but gold is given in exchange for it by the smelter, and it is always in great demand at the market price. If enterprising men were willing to undergo here half the privations and sufferings which they endure by a journey to California and hard labor in the gold mining, their happiness and prosperity would probably be as well promoted by their pecuniary success, saying nothing of the extreme perils thereby avoided, and the painful disrup- tion of domestic ties, so common to this class of emigrants."
CHARLES BRACKEN'S SKETCH.
In 1859, Hon. Charles Bracken prepared an historic statement of the early times in the lead region for the purpose of influencing a Congressional grant of lands for railroad purposes. So far as these annals are concerned, the value of the document lies in the expression of facts, and also in the report thereto appended, giving a list of those who mined prior to 1830, and paid rent to the Government as well as tribute to the Indians. Mr. Bracken wrote :
" At a treaty held by Gen. William H. Harrison with the Sac and Fox Indians, at St. Louis, on the 3d day of November, 1804, those Indians sold to the United States all the land east of the Mississippi River, extending from the mouth of the Illinois River to the mouth of the Wisconsin River, including the lead mines east of the Mississippi. Another treaty was held on
421
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
the 24th of August, 1816, at Fort Crawford (St. Louis), between the United States representa- tives, Gov. Edwards, Gen. Clark and Mr. Choteau, and the Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawatomie Indians. The Indians then proved, to the satisfaction of the Commissioners, that the country sold to Gen. William H. Harrison did not belong to the Sacs and Foxes alone, but was jointly the country of the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Winnebagoes and Pottawatomies of the Illinois. The Winnebagoes were not parties to this treaty, and, as a result, the Govern- ment ceded to them all the country lying north of a line running west from the southerly bend of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi, reserving, however, a quantity of land north of that line equal to five leagues square, to be laid in such tract or tracts as the President of the United States might deem proper. Some six years after the ratification of that treaty, the President, acting under authority vested in him by the act of March 3, 1807, which authorized him to lease the salt springs and lead mines belonging to the Government, directed the Secretary of War to lease the lead mines. Acting under this order, Col. Bomford, of the Ordnance Bureau, on the 15th day of June, 1822, advertised in the principal newspapers throughout the United States that proposals would be received for leasing any land of the Government containing lead mines. Col. James Johnson, of Kentucky, responded to the notice, and became a lessee of the Govern- ment for the lead mines of the Upper Mississippi, and was the first person to come into the country for the purpose of mining under Government auspices. He proceeded with keel-boats to Fever River, where, although accompanied by Maj. Forsythe, the Indian agent at Rock Island, his landing was resisted by the Winnebago Indians (who had assembled in arms to resist the landing of any white men, saying that the Sacs, Foxes, Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawat- omies had received presents and payments for lands which belonged to them, and that they never sold to the United States). After Mr. Johnson had counseled with the Indians for several days, and made them presents of merchandise and provisions, they consented to his landing and min- ing and smelting in their country. Others received similar leases and followed him, and the result was that, at the time of the treaty of Prairie du Chien, in 1829, when the Indian title to the country was extinguished, the miners had dispossessed the Indians of every foot of land where there were indications of lead ore. In thus taking possession of the rich mineral lands belonging to the Winnebago Indians, they carried out the object of the Government, as evinced by the clause of the treaty at Fort Edwards, in 1816, which authorized the President to reserve a quantity of land equal to two hundred and twenty-five sections in their country. As the quantity of land covered by a smelting lease was limited to three hundred and twenty acres, or cne-half section, the entire quantity reserved would authorize four hundred and fifty leases, and the Government well knew that, when that number of her citizens were dotted over those lands, the country was virtually lost to the Indians forever, and the result proved the correctness of this conclusion.
"It cannot be shown by any record, that a tract of land five leagues square, or any less in quantity, was ever officially located or reserved, as provided for in the treaty at Fort Howard, in 1816 ; but, under the orders of the Superintendent of the Lead-Mine District of the Upper Mis- sissippi, surveys were made for licensed smelters, covering a half-section of timbered land each. It appears that no record was kept of such surveys; yet, in every instance where a lease was granted a survey was made, and, as timber was necessary for smelting purposes, these surveys were always made in groves where plenty of wood could be obtained. It may be assumed, that, although there was no record kept, as the surveys were made under the direction of the Presi- dent, and had metes and bounds regularly established, they must necessarily be considered as a part of the reserve under the treaty : yet, that position would not affect the miners' claims seriously, for in no instance was the mineral smelted taken from the timbered surveys ; it was taken from the adjoining prairie lands, which were undoubtedly the property of the Indians. So well was this understood by the miners and smelters that, at a very early day, they refused to pay rent for the lead dug and smelted from the Indian lands. The consequence was, in the spring of 1825, troops were ordered from Fort Armstrong (Rock Island) to force the payment of the . rent. Against this military exaction the smelters strongly protested.
422
HISTORY OF THE LEAD REGION.
" Up to the year 1825, the country east of the Mississippi, lying between the Rock and Wis- consin Rivers, and extending north to Lake Winnebago, was claimed conjointly by the Ottawas, Chippewas, Winnebagoes and Pottawatomies of the Illinois. The Winnebagoes, it will be remem- bered, were not parties to the treaty of 1816, at Fort Howard, and they were the actual occupants of the land around Fever River, and who resisted the landing of Col. Johnson. Previous to his arrival, Van Matre, Shull and others, who were licensed as Indian traders, also mined and smelted in the country. They were tolerated in this because they were married to Indian women, not because they had any recognized right to do so, conferred by the Government. But, after the arrival of Johnson, all who were smelting in the country were compelled to take out licenses and pay rent to the Government.
" At the treaty concluded at Prairie du Chien, on the 19th day of August, 1825, known as the 'Treaty of Limits,' the seventh and ninth articles divided the mining country on the east of the Mississippi between the Chippewas, Winnebagoes, Ottawas, and the Chippewas and Pottawatomies of the Illinois, and, by the tenth article of the treaty, the United States solemnly establishes and recognizes the boundaries.
" In the summer of 1827, the Winnebago chief, Red Bird, attacked some keel-boats on the Mississippi, above Prairie du Chien, and killed some of the hands .*
" Previous to that time no attempt had been made by the miners to cross the boundary line established in 1825,* but then a military expedition was sent against the Winnebagoes to capture Red Bird. The miners who accompanied the expedition discovered numerous indications of mineral, and in the fall of 1827 a number of them prospected in the country, and a valuable discovery of mineral deposit was found near Dodgeville (in Iowa County). During the following year other mines were discovered.
" The miners purchased the right to mine here from the Indians, and, therefore, when called upon by the Superintendent of the lead mines, refused to pay rent to the Government. The consequence was, troops were ordered out from Fort Crawford (Prairie du Chien), to remove the miners from the Winnebago country. To avoid this issue, the miners finally consented to take out leases and pay rent to the Government, and did, therefore, actually pay two duties for the privilege of mining-one to the Indians to keep them quiet, and one to the Government to prevent expulsion.
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