396 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
icebergs that once flowed oyer the very top of the ridge ; which 
with its invaluable beds of iron ore was thus saved from de¬ 
struction. 
All the rocks, including the ore, have a considerable dip to¬ 
wards the north, or towards the great basin of Lake Superior; 
and they are always found in the same relative position in re¬ 
gard to the ore. If we, at any new locality, could find either 
of the rocks in place, we at once knew which way to turn to 
find the ore. 
The magnetic ore of the Penokee Iron Range contains a no¬ 
table and much varying proportion of silica in its composition, 
but is free from sulphur and other deleterious qualities—cor¬ 
responding in this respect with most of the iron ores of this 
remote geological epoch. It is in some localities so highly mag¬ 
netic that particles adhere to the hammer when struck, like iron 
filings to a magnet; and the compass needle as often pointed 
towards the east or west, as to the north; in one instance being 
entirely reversed, the north end pointing to the south. At Pe¬ 
nokee, where Bad river crosses the Range, the ore exists in 
such abundance that it may be obtained from the face of the 
hill, much as stone are taken from an ordinary stone quarry.— 
Large masses that have fallen from the cliffs, now Jie loose upon 
the surface, and will supply a furnace for many years, before it 
will be necessary to resort to the original bed. 
The route has been surveyed for a railroad from the naviga¬ 
ble waters of Lake Superior, at Ashland, to the gap in the 
Range at Penokee, and found to be entirely feasible. The 
length is only twenty-three miles; and no serious obstacles are 
to be encountered. A company has been incorporated by the 
Legislature with full power to construct the road, and also to 
mine the ore and manufacture iron. The general direction of 
this railroad is such as to connect with the Milwaukee and Hor- 
icon road, now completed as far as Berlin, and which is destin¬ 
ed to be extended up the valley of the Wisconsin river, and 
thence to some point on Lake Superior. 
The soil on the Range is much deeper and of better quality 
