,39 



to keep it out of the hands of his enemies, in 1712 granted it 

 by letters patent to Anthony Crozat. In this grant were in- 

 cluded the propriety of the mines and minerals he should dis- 

 cover ; the king, however, reserving to himself the fifth part 

 of all the bullion of gold and silver, and one tenth of the pro- 

 duce of all other mines." 



u The first effective mining operations were conducted by 

 Philip Renault, who located himself about the year 1720, near 

 Fort Chartres ; from which he sent miners into various parts 

 of the surrounding country. The result of these frequent ex- 

 plorations was the discovery of those extensive mines at Po- 

 tosi and on the St. Francois river ; and being now satisfied 

 that no silver would be discovered, Renault turned his whole 

 attention to the smelting of lead — which, for some time, ap- 

 pears to have been vigorously prosecuted." 



" The complete failure of the Mississippi scheme, and the 

 return to France of Renault and most of his workmen in 1772, 

 put a stop for a long time to the mining operations. At the 

 close of the last century, they excited the attention of the 

 Americans ; and from that time until within a few years 

 since, they were extensively and profitably worked. But 

 these have now been abandoned for the richer and more ex- 

 tensive veins on St. Peter's and Fevre rivers." 



At Potosi the ore of lead is found imbedded in a stratum of 

 stiff marly clay, varying in colour from a light brown to a deep 

 red. It is also found in the limestone upon which this bed of 

 marl reposes. The accompanying minerals are sulphate of 

 barytes, calcareous spar, radiated quartz, (called by the mi- 

 ners " mineral blossom,") iron pyrites, sulphuret of zinc, and 

 carbonate of lead. 



This vein of galena probably extends, without much inter- 

 ruption, from the locality just mentioned, nearly 600 miles in 

 a northerly direction, being about 20 miles in breadth from 

 east to west. The most northern point at which the ore is 

 worked is at Dubuque's mines, 456 miles above St. Louis, on 

 the west bank of the Mississippi. This mine, which was pro- 

 bably long known to the Indians, was visited by Julian Du- 

 buque, a Spaniard, in 1787, who purchased from the Foxes a 

 tract in which the mine was included. Very little however 

 was known concerning it until 1820, when it was visited by 

 Mr. Schoolcraft, who represented the ore to be very rich, and 

 to possess nearly the same geological relations as that of Po- 



The author next adverted to the dispute concerning the ge- 

 ological character of this ore. Professor Keating, in his Nar- 

 rative of the Expedition of Major Long, maintains, with some 



