148 VIEWS OP LOUISIANA. 
thousand and even two thousand lbs. but most usually in lumps 
from one to fifty lbs. weight. The rock which is either a primi¬ 
tive limestone, or a kind of sandstone, is struck at the depth of 
eight or ten feet. Various kinds of clay are often found in these 
pits, and amongst some other substances, the blende ore of zinc 
has been discovered. The ore contains a considerable propor¬ 
tion of sulphur, arsenic, and it is believed, of silver; though ill 
respect to the last, it has not been sufficiently tested by experi¬ 
ments, to know whether the proportion would repay the trouble 
and expense of separating it. It is highly probable that the ore 
of some of the mines, may yield it sufficiently The ore of the 
Maramek, which, I am informed, has been partially essayed, gave 
the most flattering result. Above the rock, the ore is found 
in enormous masses, in strata, apparently horizontal, and often 
two feet thick, and several of these are passed before the rock 
arrests the progress of the miner. I have seen pits ten or twelve 
feet deep where the strata of ore had only been dug through* 
the digger intending to strike the rock before he attempted to 
undermine; perhaps, gratifying his vanity with the pleasing con¬ 
templation of the shining mineral, his riches. In the rock there* 
appears to be no regular veins; the ore occupies the accidental 
fissures, as is the case generally in lead mines. Leads, (or loads) 
are the smaller fissures that connect with the larger, which are 
called by the miners, caves. The ore is what is called potter’s 
ore, or galena, and has a broad shining grain; but there is also, 
what is called gravel ore, from being found in small pieces in 
gravel; and that kind of ore called floats, being formed in large 
irregular, but unconnected masses. The first kind is the most 
to be depended on * the uncertainty of the floats, and the trouble 
of smelting the gravel ore, render both of less consequence.— 
The potter’s ore, or galena, has always adhering to it, a sparry 
matter, which the miners call tiif, and which requires to be se¬ 
parated with small picks made for that purpose : this operation 
is called cleaning, the ore. The floats have no tiif, and are the 
most easily smelted. 
3. The mode of working the mines is exceedingly simple. 
The word diggings , by which they are known, very well desig¬ 
nates the appearance of these places; pits, and heaps of clay 
