52 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. 



Early and Recent Mining Processes, The primitive mining processes 

 in the Galena lead basin were of a very simple character. Two men 

 selected the spot where they wished to try their fortunes. They were 

 generally guided by certain signs in making the selection, such as de- 

 pressions in the ground, unusual luxuriance in the growth of vegetation, 

 color of the clay, or ravines supposed to indicate crevices in the rocks 

 below. A shaft was sunk through the clay, and cribbed by building up 

 timber, until the rock was struck. A rude windlass, bucket and rope, 

 a few shovels, picks and pieces of tallow candle, constituted all the 

 tools needed, to which was sometimes added a few blasting tools. If a 

 crevice was struck it was followed down, and drifts were driven from it 

 in various directions. The man at the top laboriously hoisted with his 

 windlass the material necessary to be removed. The digging was aban- 

 doned when worked down to the water, or a pump is put on driven by 

 horse-power. The mineral is brought to the bottom of the shaft or rude 

 car, running on wooden rails. Instead of sinking a shaft, an inclined 

 plane or drift is run into the hill, in case the outcrops of the rock show 

 lead crevices. If a heavy body of mineral is found at any considerable 

 depth, a whim is put on. This is a large wooden wheel or barrel, re- 

 volving at some highth above the ground, propelled by horse-power, 

 and containing coils of a strong rope, to which is attached rude cars or 

 tubs, so arranged in many instances that one goes down as the other 

 comes up. With the whim and horse-power pump, a range can be 

 worked considerably below the water level. Most of the prospecting 

 and much of the mining has been done over the lead district in this 

 rude way. It has proved very effective, and will be resorted to for a 

 long time to come, both for prospecting and shallow mining. Gradually, 

 however, more advanced and scientific processes of mining were re- 

 ported to. Costly plants of machinery, including steam engines and 

 expensive purnps and mining tools, were put to work in the heavier 

 mines, especially where it was desirable to work below the water level. 

 Prospecting is also now done to some extent by driving adit levels, so as 

 to cut and prove all the parallel ranges in a hill or group of diggings by 

 one level. The level also sometimes drains a large group of mines to a 

 lower depth than could have been worked before the level was carried 

 into the hill. 



The first attempts at smelting were also quite rude. The Indian 

 squaws smelted the ore by roasting it in a rude stone furnace, in which 

 they were able to melt out but a small portion of the lead. The log 

 furnace succeeded this when the white men began to work the mines. 

 In these some large logs were rolled into an area inclosed on three sides 

 by low stone walls. Upon the logs fuel and ore was piled alternately to 

 the top of the walls. The fuel was kindled and the "charge 1 ' melted, 



