60 Wisconsin and Missouri Lead Region. 
Pilot Knob.—This is a much larger hill than the Tron Moun- 
tain. It lies about six miles south of it, and seems to form the 
termination of that ridge to the south. All around rise high hills 
enclosing this, but none that appear to be a continuation of the 
ridge. This attains an elevation of about seven hundred feet 
above the valleys, and is quite steep and rocky. Iron ore more 
close grained and compact than that of the Iron Mountain, is found 
in loose pieces at the foot of the hill, and these continue to in- 
crease in number and size on ascending. Half way up solid 
ledges of iron ore and piles of ferruginous rock, resembling blocks 
of granite on a steep primary mountain, appear. Some of it is a 
ferruginous and siliceous conglomerate, black or red, and contin- 
ually varying in.its proportion of oxide of iron, from quartz rock 
to the hardest and most compact iron ore. Some of it is of a 
slaty structure, easily splitting like slate. At the top it is more 
massive, and the best ore. Here rises a rocky peak, looking like 
a rough granite crag, of about sixty feet perpendicular elevation, 
forming the summit or knob from which the hill takes its name. 
The surface of the rock is of a gray color, covered with moss, 
and it would not be distinguished by an indifferent observer from 
other primary rocks. Huge blocks lie below the perpendicular 
peak, and the solid ledge itself is exposed along the summit for 
nearly two hundred feet in length, and forty or fifty in breadth. 
Nearly all this is found to be the rich peroxide of iron, but a part 
of it is the ferruginous conglomerate into which it passes, and 
which perhaps in many other places would be considered worke 
able iron ore. The sides of the hills are covered, when not too 
rocky, with a good growth of oak, and the valleys and hills 
around contain valuable forests of these trees, but there is no 
good water power near, and the country is very thinly settled, 
the soil being of indifferent quality, and the surface very rough. 
» Other veins of iron ore are said to occur in the hills around, 
bat none of them are likely soon to become of Wee reais 
Some iedietinns of lead ore are sas beni near dias Tron Mouw 
tain range of hills, in Bellevue valley. One shaft, sunk by a Mr. 
‘Thomas, in a vertical east and west fissure, to the depth of forty 
fonr feet; afforded some md stlphurets of iron and copper 
arr. carhras: Pe ee only Lis speci m Ds, “but er I 
to encourage the Proprietor to continue “ 
fr ee ea ee 
