404 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
extreme north line, and the region about Monroe, the eastern 
extension of these mining districts. 
While working out the details of this system or grouping 
along this range of country through nine ranges of townships, 
I was never more surprised in the results of a survey than to 
find when figuring up my notes and bearings, which had been 
taken by myself with great care, that within a breadth of six 
miles we have a belt of mining districts, along a belt of min¬ 
eral land, extending in nearly an east and west direction for at 
least fifty miles. 
As I stood one beautiful day on the high grounds above 
the village of Newdiggings, with my compass set to within a 
few degrees of east and west, and looked over this long range 
of mining districts, I felt confident that in all my experience 
in mining and mineral labors, I had not seen, to such an ex¬ 
tent, a better defined belt of mineral land. Nor do I believe 
that another belt of equal extent and depth, either in this or 
any other country, has yielded more ore than this, or paid bet¬ 
ter for the capital invested. It is, however, one of the unfor¬ 
tunate mistakes of our state that no mining record has been 
kept, no clue even left as to the quantity of lead ore thus far 
obtained. We may form some idea of'the amount, however, 
by putting together some scattered facts recorded concerning 
certain portions of these districts. Hazel Green furnishes the 
most reliable; and our thanks are due to the late Mr. Crawford 
for these. 
Prof. Whitney (who by the way was very careful not to 
over-estimate our mineral resources) reported as reliable 
127,000,000 pounds up to 1860, with an annual yield of about 
2,000,000. We may, perhaps, safely set down for this mining 
district up to the present time, 150,000,000 pounds. And this 
amount of ore has been taken from a mining district not over 
four miles in length, and from fissures and openings mostly 
above the water level, at an average depth of not over 45 or 
50 feet. 
And this is only one of six or seven like districts along this 
belt. And then, the mines along this entire belt are worked 
