Sidebilder
PDF
ePub

old C. J. White place, and then with a northwesterly curve to the place of beginning. The old Stoddard house is somewhere near the northern center of the bed.

"Not long since we made a thorough examination of it in company with Mr. C. Barnard, who came from an iron and coal country and has had years of experience in mining. We first struck the ore on the south side near the old White place, and followed up the ravine nearly to the top of the hill; crossed the ridge to another ravine; and made a general examination of fields, ravines and washes. The bed is bounded on the south and east by the St. Peter sandstone; on the west and north by the Trenton limestone. The bed extends much further down the hill going south than it does going north. The change from the iron bed proper to the other formations is abrupt. At the old White and Stoddard places, there are springs of soft water, while all other springs in this county, so far as we know, are hard water. following up the ravines a person can walk almost the entire distance on ore. No other rock formation shows itself. The ravines wash out till the ore is struck and can wash no lower. The sides of the washes are lined with ore. It crops out on the summits of the hills in large boulders. From our examinations, we should say there was at least two hundred acres two hundred feet deep of the ore. There are now thousands of tons of it in sight. This is an estimate, and not by measurement. Of course it cannot be positively determined to what depth it does extend; sinking a shaft only can determine that. Our opinion is that it is an upheaval of considerable and perhaps great depth, and not merely a shell on the surface."

In

And the following from the Dubuque Trade Journal of about the same date relates to iis availability:

"Here would seem to be a mine of wealth, a genuine bonanza awaiting the advent of capital, enterprise and skill, to establish an industry that would redound in fortunes to all concerned. The only drawback is the want of fuel in the immediate vicinity. But fortunately, from the deposit to the Mississippi river, which is not far off, there is a continuous down grade. The ore can therefore be easily taken to the water and then floated in barges to Dubuque to be smelted. If thought advisable, smelting furnaces might be established in the Turkey river district, where an abundance of the best wood is found; or, for that matter, anywhere along the banks of the river on either side for a distance of more than seventy-five miles. Furthermore, a railroad connection of not more than three miles would place the valuable freightage in the hands of the Waukon railroad. By water or rail the grade is downward, so that under any circumstances the transportation would be of the easiest kind.'

From a personal examination of this iron bed, in company with Mr. Barnard, we found that recent heavy rains had washed out

the ravines so as to expose the ore in better shape, giving more favorable indications than before. In several places strata of fine blue clay are found of considerable thickness, possibly in sufficient quantities to warrant the undertaking of the manufacture of white brick. In other places, at the base of the iron exposure, there was observed a heavy bed of what is pronounced by those familiar with its appearance to be a superior quality of potter's clay.

The main portion of this iron deposit lies on Section 17, extending to the south on to Section 20, and to the west on to Section 18, covering a total area of about 328 acres. On its southern border is nothing but sandstone; to the west it abuts abruptly upon a limestone filled with fossils; a limestone without fossils lies on its north; while on the east are found sandstone, limestone and a black granite, the latter being found nowhere else in this region with the exception of small boulders of glacial deposit in some localities. The springs of soft water which flow from near the centre of this area, are strongly impregnated with iron, but no complete analysis has yet been made. Numerous beds of blue clay are also found here and there over this area; and the more the region is studied the more wonderful geological surprises does it present to the observer.

Since the above was written one of the numerous analysis, made by a thoroughly competent man, has been published, as follows: Sesquioxide of iron....

Sesquioxide of manganese.

Sesquioxide of cobalt.

Alumina.

Lime

[blocks in formation]

52.571

8.054

.230

1.777

1.090

.374

.047

4.092

13.134

18.631

100,000

In regard to the extent of the ore, Mr. Barnard, after careful examination, has made out the following list of owners and number of acres owned by each:

[blocks in formation]

Fossil Marble. This term is applied to the fossiliferous layers of blue limestone found in such profusion in certain quarries in

the central portion of the county. These layers or strata are composed almost entirely of a mass of organic forms, the fossil remains of the numerous pieces of mollusks so characteristic of that epoch, possessing such a degree of cohesion, however, that the rock which they compose is used extensively in building, and is susceptible of a high degree of polish, like marble. When so polished, the surface presents a most beautiful appearance, showing as it does the hundreds of curious forms of shells, corals, etc., in one solid mass of confusion, though each distinctly preserved as they were huddled together by the waters of the ancient ocean in which they had their existence, and from which they were so wonderfully preserved for our study and admiration. So wrought, this rock is useful for all ornamental purposes; is inexpensive and much used for mantels, table tops, etc., in place of marble, and is aptly christened "fossil marble."

Artesian Wells.-The well near Harper's Ferry was bored in 186-, with the hope of finding petroleum. Of course the project was a failure. Prof. White says: "It is quite remarkable that the most careful tests failed to find any iron in it. This water has been reported to be strongly impregnated with salt. The analysis will show no warrant for such a statement. One liter of the water contains .79 grains of solid matter, of which there are of

[merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

"The depth of this well has been variously stated, ** and it has been found impossible to get a perfectly satisfactory account of the strata passed through by the drill."

The first artesian well at the foot of Main street, in Lansing, was drilled in April, 1877, and began to flow at a depth of 366 feet. Granite was struck at 760 feet, and the work ceased, with a flow of 320 gallons per minute; but this well not having a sufficient "head" of water for practical purposes (33 feet only), another was started, but abandoned at 440 feet, and a third one undertaken further up town, which was completed in July, the depth being 676 feet, and the flow greater than at the first well. The water is clear, cold, and soft, with no bad taste.

CHAPTER II.

Botany, Zoology and Entomology; Climate; Storms and Tornadoes; Agriculture, Live Stock and Manufacturing Interests; Tables of Statistics.

The botany of Allamakee County is rich in species, both of exogens and endogens. The country on the whole may be considered well wooded, though many of the groves that now dot the prairie are the result of forethought on the part of the early settlers, who planted trees for shelter from the winds of winter and the summer sun, and are well repaid by the enhanced beauty and value of their farms thereby.

Among the forest trees and shrubs of the county are found the oaks, white, black, and minor varieties; the hard and soft maples, which here grow to perfection; the hickory, butternut, black walnut, hackberry; ash, white and black; elms, cottonwood, poplar, birch, willows, several species; basswood, honey locust and mulberry, rare; wild plum, crab-apple, wild cherry, iron-wood, thorn-apple, elder, sumach, hazel, gooseberry, raspberry, blackberry, wild grape, etc., among the deciduous varieties; and the common white pine, red cedar, balsam fir, trailing hemlock and trailing juniper among the evergreens. Besides these, all the hardier varieties of fruit trees, ornamental shade trees and shrubs, do well when introduced into this region, as the apple, pear, cherry, grape, currants, chestnut, buckeye, mountain ash, larch, spruce, arbor-vitæ, etc.

In regard to fruit trees, the experience of most of the early comers who attempted to grow apples of the varieties which had prospered well in their former homes, was discouraging in the extreme, and the trees killing out winter after winter induced nearly all to give up the attempt. There were a few, however, in different portions of the county, who believed that with judicious selection and management the apple would be made a success, and about 1855 and 1856 there were numerous nurseries established, nearly every one of which proved failures. Among those who entered this branch of horticulture was D. W. Adams, who established a nursery at Waukon in 1856, and persevering year after year, casting aside as worthless such varieties as winter-killed and propagating only such as readily became acclimated, he succeeded in establishing the fact that some of the best apples in the country can be easily grown in this region. He to-day has forty acres of bearing orchard, probably as fine as any in the Northwest, which has yielded as high as 2,000 bushels per annum. Throughout the county, too, are many orchards in bearing, supplied with the varieties which have proven themselves well adapted to this climate-30me of them seedlings of remarkable excellence.

[graphic][ocr errors][subsumed]
« ForrigeFortsett »