256 APPENDIX. 



tied, and with skill and capital to spare, these would speedily 

 cause and justify the employment of whole villages of 

 workmen. 



" To incidental causes alone, and not to any natural defici- 

 ency of material, must be attributed the custom of import- 

 ing annually from England, into this countiy, millions of 

 dollars worth of iron for railroads and other purposes. Enor- 

 mous as is the produce of Great Britain's iron-furnaces 

 (amounting, in 1833, to fifteen hundred millions of pounds), 

 we might rival it in America. How little here in the west, 

 at least, we have hitherto improved our natural resources in 

 this branch of commerce, is proved by the thousands of tons 

 of rich iron ore w^hich lie, unappropriated and useless, scat- 

 tered over the territories of Iowa and Wisconsin. 



'' Coal. 



" The great coal-field of Illinois extends its northwestern 

 margin over ten or twelve townships of the district, chiefly 

 on the western side of the Missisippi. 



" One seam of coal only was discovered cropping out 

 w^est of the Missisippi ; and that was of indifferent quality, 

 lying in the north half of section tw^enty-seven, tow^nship 

 seventy-eight, range four east of the fifth principal meridian, 

 on Duck creek. Several were found in the tongue of land 

 which lies in the fork between Rock River and the Missi- 

 sippi : one of them from five to six feet in thickness. The 

 quality of this last is fair : and, in proportion as the coal- 

 diggings extended, the quality improved. 



" Several good seams of coal show themselves south of 

 the district, within a short distance of its southern boundary ; 

 and there is no doubt that any required quantity of this fuel 

 may be procured at no great distance from the mouth of 



