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W77 
 opy 1 
 
 THE 
 
 Geology and Mineral Products 
 
 OK. 
 
 MISSOURI. 
 
 /•■ 
 
 BY 
 
 ARTHUR WINSLO^V, State Geologist. 
 
 From "Missouri at the World's Fair." 
 
 (Official Publication of the World's Fair Commission of Missouri). 
 
 St. Louis : 
 
 WOODWARD & TIERNAN PRINTING CO. 
 
 1893. 
 

)GICAL MAP 
 
 OF THE 
 
 te of ]V[issoari, 
 
 SHOWINO 
 
 he Distribution of the 
 
 Principal Mineral Products 
 
 IN THE YEAR 
 St. Louis 
 
 Scale 40 Miles = I Inch. 
 
The Geology and flineral Products of riissouri. 
 
 ARTHUR WINSLOW, State Geologist. 
 
 d) 
 
 HE State of Missouri is located in the central 
 portion of the United States, in that region 
 known as the Mississippi valley. It is bounded 
 on the east by the Mississippi river, on the south by 
 the lines 36° and 30° 30' of north latitude, and on 
 the west by the meridian which passes through the 
 mouth of the Kansas river at latitude 39° 1' , and 
 longitude 94° 37'. Thence the boundary line follows 
 the riissouri river in a northwesterly dii-ection to a 
 point at about latitude 40° 34|', longitude 955°. 
 This is the northwestern corner of the State, and 
 thence the northern boundary line extends eastwards 
 approximately along the line of same latitude to the 
 Des Moines river, which it intersects at longitude 
 91-1°, about 25 miles above the mouth of that stream. 
 The area of the State, according to the figures of 
 the eleventh census of the United States, is 69,415 
 square miles. 
 
 PHYSIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Generally speaking, the whole State is an in- 
 cised plain; no great mountain ranges traverse it. 
 The maximum difference of absolute elevation within 
 the whole area is only 1,500 feet; the local and 
 relative differences are still less, and do not exceed 
 700 feet. More closeh'^ speaking, the following four 
 topographic divisions may be recognized: (1.) A 
 plain or prairie country. (2.) A plateau country. 
 (3.) A highland or semi-mountainous country. 
 (4.) An alluvial or swamp country. 
 
 (1.) The Prairie Country. — The prairie country 
 of the State is principally represented in the northern 
 portion, and in that part north of the Missouri river ; 
 it also occupies, however, nearly all of the two tiers 
 of counties south of that stream which extend along 
 the Kansas line. Adjacent to the Missouri river and 
 to other large streams this country loses its prairie 
 features and is rugged and characterized by steep, 
 timbered slopes and bluffs adjacent to and bordering 
 the flood plains of these streams. Away from the 
 channels, however, the country assumes the character 
 of a broad plain, sometimes flat, but generally undu- 
 lating. In fact the local differences of elevation often 
 amount to 100 feet or more, but the slopes are so 
 gentle that the country does not lose the aspect of a 
 plain. The growth of trees is here not abundant, 
 excepting along the streams. It must, however, be 
 
 understood that, though a comparatively level and 
 treeless country, it is of a very different type from 
 the great flat plains of Western Kansas. 
 
 (2.) The Plateau Country. — The plateau country 
 of the State occupies the central southern part, south 
 of the Missouri river. This is the area known as the 
 Ozark Mountains, and is essentially a dome-shaped 
 uplift, with very gentle quaquaversal slopes. It 
 differs from the prairie country chiefly in its greater 
 relative altitude, and in that it is not covered by a pro- 
 tecting and modifying coat of glacial material. As a 
 result the land is more pronouncedly sculptured. 
 The valleys are cut deeper, and the slopes are more 
 abrupt ; the area is made up of a series of long ridges 
 and hills, divided by deep narrow vallej^s, often oi 
 caiion-like dimensions. Timber is abundant, but, on 
 the other hand, the land is generally less fertile than 
 that of the northern portion of the State. Near the 
 crest of the Ozarks the type of topography is not 
 nearly so pronounced, and we have here quite a large 
 expanse of undulating country ; thence, in all direc- 
 tions, however, the streams cut deeper and deeper, 
 and the i^rofile becomes more serrated. 
 
 (3.) The Highland Country. — AVhat we term foi 
 convenience the highland or semi-mountainous 
 country, lies in Southeastern Missouri, and includes 
 what we have named the St. Francois mountains. 
 These are a series of knobs and domes of Archean por- 
 phyry and granite which rise to altitudes of from 1,70C 
 to 1,800 feet, A. T., and some 700 feet above the sur- 
 rounding valleys. The whole area covered by these 
 mountains is not over 1,000 square miles. These are 
 distinguished from the Ozark mountains, so called, in 
 form, structure and age. They are among the oldest 
 elevations in America. They are not arranged by 
 groups and ranges, but their distribution seems to be 
 quite adventitious. The country is decidedly a tim- 
 bered one, but a large part of the timber has been 
 removed for railway and furnace uses. The valleys 
 are underlain by Cambrian limestone, and are 
 generally cultivated. 
 
 (4.) The Alluvial Country. — The alluvial oi 
 swamp country occupies the extreme southeastern 
 corner of the State ; it is the alluvial or flood plain of 
 the Mississippi river and its tributaries. It is almost 
 entirely a low-lying and flat expanse, though in the 
 western part it is traversed by a long, low ridge oi 
 
HAUlil- \|HEKfEK.'l 
 
 tysii 
 
 r' 
 
 
 GEOLOGICAL MAP 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ' State of fflissoafi, 
 
 
 ^-pliil.y 
 
 -"i—rte»T^/-3 
 
 OKI ,y ■ , 
 
 SHO^A/ING 
 The Distribution of the 
 
 m. 
 
 LEGEND 
 
 I I Pleistocene 
 
 I ' 1 Tertiary 
 
 b i Pennsylvanian 
 
 - ) Mississippian 
 
 ; Cambrian & Silurian 
 
 1 I Atgonkian 
 
 (only .1 Pilot Kool) 
 
 
 "^i^^^ Principal Mineral Products 
 
 %:w^ 
 
 )jiv»Knrv;(5f«4.Ri., 
 
 m^ Y^:^y.5^^jas:Fr 
 
 „^ IN THE YEAR 
 
 i^o^^^jj 18Q:2. 
 
 'it. Louis 
 
 Scale 40 Miles = r Inch. 
 
 
 r>-^ .1 V I r — t -X^2 t I 
 
 LE*0^ I JiAiJii:* 1.,! y^-'T ^,L.L 
 
 ■^y 1 
 
 Prepared by 
 Thk Missouri Geological Survey 
 ro AfroMi'vs^ THE Paper 
 ^x Y \KiiM i> VViNvrow State GEOLOfJisT, 
 >~^ Ste. Genevieve ON the 
 
 
 Ml} 
 
 
 11 \.i\\ 
 
 -"T 
 
 ini 
 
 f ii>iOir.-n<!.- 
 
 
 , i '■' '/ > 
 
 _ /I l»>\\I.I-Ll 1 ■, ' J,\i»j 
 
 1 iKT^''4j 
 
 JJ JjlFE^lXiZ 
 
 sns^ssy/ 
 
 I. 
 
 
Tertiary sands and clays. This area is in large part 
 subject to overflow, though portions are not reached 
 by any ordinary tioods. It is mostly heavily tim- 
 bered, especially in the swampy portion, and large 
 amounts of lumber are shipped out annually. It 
 also contains great tracts of prairie and cleared 
 country of extreme fertility, and many flourishing 
 towns and settlements have been built up within its 
 borders. 
 
 GEOLOGY. 
 
 Nine geologic formations or systems, representing 
 so many periods of geologic time are found in the 
 State. These are, beginning with the oldest, the 
 Archean, Algonkian, Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian, 
 Carboniferous, Tertiary and Pleistocene. 
 
 The Arche.vx. — The rocks of Archean age in 
 Missouri consist chiefly of granites and porphyries 
 or felsites. They occur exclusively in the south- 
 eastern part and constitute the hills described on the 
 preceding page as the St. Fi-ancois mountains. The 
 porjjhyries are of varj'ing color, from light gray, 
 pink, red and brown to almost black. They are 
 generally massive, but frequently brecciated, and are 
 sometimes banded, with the flow structure well 
 developed. The texture varies from the vitrophyric 
 to the microgranitic. The most important ores oc- 
 curring in these rocks are the specular iron ores of 
 Iron mountain. The granites are irregularly distrib- 
 uted over the Archean area. They are intimately 
 associated Avith the porphyries and seem to grade 
 into the latter in jilaces ; elsewhere they are extremely 
 coarse, and, in some instances, the quartz and feld- 
 spar are in masses six and eight inches across. They 
 are of gray, pink and red colors. Some black mica 
 is found as an accessory mineral. About the only 
 ore of economic value found in these rocks is the 
 silver-bearing galenite of the Einstein mines, in 
 3Iadison county. 
 
 The Algonkian. — The Algonkian rocks are rep- 
 resented at only a few localities in the vicinity of 
 Ironton, associated with Archean rocks. The most 
 noteworthy and extensive exhibit is on the summit 
 of Pilot Knob. Here the formation is represented bj^ 
 beds of conglomerate or breccia and of felsitic appear- 
 ing slate. A bed of specular ore, some 30 feet in 
 maximum thickness, constitutes one of the members 
 of the series here. The fragments of the breccia 
 consist of porphyry and, though sometimes rounded, 
 are generally sub-angular. The matrix of the con- 
 glomerate and the material of the slates is also felsitic 
 and the texture is similar to that of the porphyry. 
 The slate is fissile and cleavable in places, but is 
 elsewhere massive. It is, in large part, highly ferru- 
 ginous. The bed of iron ore is near the bottom of 
 this series of rocks and is of elliptical outline and 
 changes in character towards the margin by lessen- 
 ing in iron contents or ''leaning out" as the miner 
 expresses it. These Algonkian beds probably began 
 forming immediately after the Archean rocks were 
 consolidated. They nuist have originally spread over 
 a wide area. Denudation before or during early 
 
 Cambrian times has left only a few remnants. The 
 maximum tliickness now to be seen is under 200 feet. 
 The presence of these beds and the fact that only 
 these remnants should be left is significant of the 
 vast interval of time that must have elapsed between 
 the Archean and Cambrian periods. 
 
 The Cambrian. — The Cambrian system is repre- 
 sented in Missouri by a succession of beds of magne- 
 sian limestone and sandstone. These occupy the 
 southern-central and southeastern portions of the 
 State, and are particularly well developed in the 
 Ozark mountains. In the St. Francois mountain 
 region beds of conglomerate are found at the base of 
 the formation consisting largely of porphyry, granite 
 boulders and pebbles derived from the Archean 
 hills. As the results of recent work, three main 
 divisions of this system are provisionally recognized. 
 These are, from the bottom upwards, as follows : 
 
 (1) The La Motte sandstone, to which horizon the 
 conglomerate above referred to may be assigned. 
 
 (2) The Gasconade limestone. (3) The Roubidoux 
 sandstone. This last is probably equivalent to the 
 old "Saccharoidal" sandstone. The exact upper limit 
 of this system is not yet defined; but, probably, it 
 will be drawn below what has been called the First 
 magnesian limestone. The maximum thickness of 
 the whole system is about 800 feet. The strata of 
 this formation are comparatively undisturbed. They 
 are largely represented in the dome-shaped arch 
 already referred to, known as the Ozark Uplift. 
 Minor gentle flexures traverse this arch in places. 
 The rocks have been eroded both by surface and sub- 
 terranean waters, and, hence, local settling of the 
 strata is quite frequent. This might lead to the idea 
 that great flexing had taken place in places ; but such 
 is not the case. The principal mineral product of 
 economic value in these rocks are the lead ores of 
 Southeastern Missouri and the iron ores of the central 
 and southern portions of the State. 
 
 The Silurian. — The outcrops of rocks of Silurian 
 age are confined almost entirely to the eastern border 
 of the State, where they are frequently exposed from 
 Marion to Cape Girardeau counties. No exposures 
 of these rocks have been found in the western part 
 of the State, and it is probable, even, that they do 
 not occur there beneath the overlying rocks. This 
 system is divided into an upper and a lower series, 
 the two aggregating about 600 feet in thickness. 
 They consist of a succession of limestones and shales 
 of varying character. Areally the rocks of this 
 system are not prominent in Missouri, neither do 
 they contain minerals of great economic value. 
 
 The Carboniferous. — The Carboniferous system 
 is divided into two series, the lower is known as the 
 Mississippian or Lower Carboniferous, the upper as 
 the Pennsylvanian or Coal ]\Ieasures. This formation 
 occupies well-nigh the whole northern and western 
 portions of the State. The Mississippian division is 
 composed chiefly of massive beds of limestone, often 
 crystalline and highly fossihferous. Thick beds of 
 chert, shale and sandstone are, however, often in- 
 cluded, the last two especially in the lower portion. 
 
The aggregate thickness is over 1,000 feet. This is 
 the great lead and zinc bearing formation of South- 
 western Missouri. Excellent building stone is also 
 derived from the limestone beds, and they furnish, 
 the best grades of quicklime. 
 
 The rocks of the Pennsylvanian series overlie the 
 Mississippian somewhat unconformably. A period 
 of sub-areal erosion, over at least part of the latter 
 formation, must have intervened. The series con- 
 sists, in the lower part, of sandstones and shales, the 
 latter partly arenaceous, with some limestone and 
 coal. Higher up limestones and coals are more 
 abundant, and the latter are more regular in distri- 
 bution. At the top of the series, the limestones are 
 most abundant. This is the great coal-bearing forma- 
 tion of the State. The strata of this series, as well as 
 those of the preceding member of the Carboniferous, 
 are practically horizontal with but a slight dip to the 
 west and northwest. Local departures from this rule 
 exist, however. The aggregate thickness of the 
 series is in the vicinity of 2,000 feet. 
 
 The Tertiary. — The Tertiary rocks are confijied 
 to the narrow ridge in Southeastern Missouri referred 
 to on page 14. This is bounded by the alluvial plains 
 of the Mississippi river. It consists of unconsolidated 
 beds of clay and sand and lignite, covered by a stratum 
 of chert gravel. The exhibited thickness is in the 
 vicinity of 100 feet. How much the beds extend 
 beyond this we are unable to say at present. 
 
 The Pleistocene. — In the Pleistocene we include 
 all of what are known as the glacial deposits of the 
 State, as well as the more recent Quaternary forma- 
 tions represented by the residuary loams and clays 
 which cover the ground in the uplands, and the 
 alluvial deposits of the plains along the larger 
 streams. 
 
 The glacial deposits cover the entire northern 
 half of the State approximately down to the Missouri 
 river. The materials are the usual clays, sands and 
 boulders, which we will not attempt here to classify. 
 Along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers are thick 
 deposits of loess, capping the bluffs on both sides of 
 the stream and sometimes fifty feet or more in 
 depth. The alluvial plains along the rivers are of 
 varying width, the maximum width on one side of 
 the Missouri river being about eight miles. They 
 constitute land of extreme fertility and large crops 
 of corn and wheat are annually produced upon them. 
 
 THE MINERAL PRODUCTS. 
 
 The territory occupied by the State of Missouri 
 has been known as a mineral producing area for 
 nearly 200 years. Penicaut, one of Le Sueur's party, 
 which ascended the Mississippi river in the year 
 1700, refers to a mine west of the Mississijipi and 
 west of Ste. Genevieve, whence the Indians got their 
 supply of lead. This is the earliest reference which 
 we have, and, as Carr says, it indicates with reason- 
 able certainty the date when the French began to 
 make use of the mineral resources of the region. 
 Since that time the State may be considered a con- 
 
 tinuous ore producer up to the present date. Iron 
 mining was begun about the year 1815 ; coal was 
 probably discovered in the earliest explorations ; we 
 find records of its existence in 1804 ; in 1840, 8,903 
 tons were mined, and from that time the production 
 was continuous. Zinc was mined with lead ores for 
 many years, but it was not utilized until 1869. Since 
 then the growth of production has been rapid. 
 
 Missouri's principal mineral products are zinc, in 
 the production of which she ranks first in the coun- 
 try; lead, in which she is second only to Colorado, 
 and iron. In addition, she is a large producer of 
 coal, her clays have a national reputation, and she 
 has a great variety of excellent building and orna- 
 mental stones. Among the minor products are quick- 
 lime, glass sands, copper and barytes. A large 
 number of the more common classes of mineral 
 waters are scattered over the State. The distribu- 
 tion, character and conditions of occurrence of these 
 various materials of economic value we will now 
 proceed to briefly describe. 
 
 ZINC. 
 
 Zinc may be considered Missouri's distinctive 
 product. In it she ranks first among the States as 
 a producer, and between one-third and one-half of 
 the total zinc yield of the country comes from her 
 mines. She thus stands as a source of supply for the 
 whole country, and her zinc ores are even tentatively 
 seeking the foreign market. 
 
 The zinc region of the State is the extreme south- 
 west, and this particularly in the counties of Jasper, 
 Newton and Lawrence. These are the centers of 
 production, nearly eight-tenths of the annual pro- 
 duct coming from Jasper county alone, and ninety-six 
 one-hundredths from the three. The ore is mined on 
 a commercial scale in seven other counties. Zinc is, 
 however, widespread in the State and is known to 
 occur in greater or less, but still considerable, quanti- 
 ties in as many as fifteen more counties. 
 
 Zinc ore is known to have been mined in the past 
 in Washington, Wright, Christian, Howell and Web- 
 ster counties, and the following table shows the 
 amounts mined in different counties in the year 1892 : 
 
 Dade 103 tons. 
 
 Barry , 192 " 
 
 Green 899 " 
 
 Jefferson 2,075 " 
 
 Newton 8,343 " 
 
 Lawrence 13,861 " 
 
 Jasper 106,014 " 
 
 Total zinc ore mined during 1892.. 131,487 tons. 
 The ore principally mined is the sulphide of zinc, 
 or sphalerite, commonly known as "jack," which 
 occurs in several varieties, distinguished chiefly by 
 color and known by the names of jack, rosin jack 
 and black jack. It is the most abundant ore in the 
 Jasper district. It is the most valuable of the three 
 classes, and is now rated at about $22 per ton. The 
 so-called "silicate" ores are of two varities, i. e., the 
 true silicate, or calamine, and the carbonate, or smith- 
 
sonite, and they are difficult to distinguish by the 
 eye. These ores are produced most abundantly 
 about Aurora and Granby, and constitute the zinc 
 ore of the .Valle mines in the northeastern corner of 
 St. Francois county ; they are generally found near 
 the surface in the shallower workings. They do not 
 contain so large a proportion of zinc as does the 
 sphalerite, which latter contains about sixty-seven 
 per cent, while the true silicate has fifty-four per 
 cent, and the carbonate fifty -two per cent. They, 
 hence, bring a Iowit ]>rice and now sell at about $15 
 per ton. 
 
 Geologically the zinc ores occur in nearly all of 
 the Paleozoic formations of the State, but outside of 
 the ores from the Valle mines, those mined at the 
 present date come almost exclusively from what has 
 been described as the Mississippian formation, or 
 from a great series of limestones and cherts, which 
 immediately underlie the Coal Measures, or Penn- 
 sylvanian rocks. It is not to be understood, how- 
 ever, that these ores are co-extensive with this 
 series, for these same rocks abound about St. Louis, 
 and yet they are there practically destitute of zinc. 
 Their development in this formation, on a scale of 
 conmiercial importance, seems confined to the south- 
 western part of the State, for some reason which we 
 do not clearly understand, but which we are trying 
 to find out. The ores do not occur in these rocks in 
 sheets or beds, as does the coal in the Coal Measure 
 rocks ; if so it would be a very simple matter to 
 successfully direct prospecting and further develop- 
 ment, rnfortunately for the progress of mining, 
 however, the ore is of irregular distribution, some- 
 times in thin sheets in crevices in the massive lime- 
 stones ; sometimes in great chambers ; sometimes 
 buried in clay and a mass of loose material which 
 can be excavated by pick ; sometimes disseminated 
 through solid, brecciated rock which has to be blasted 
 down ; sometimes lining cavities with drusy crystals. 
 
 The reasons for the j)eculiar conditions of occur- 
 rence of these zinc ores are chiefly assignable to 
 structural considerations, and to the nature of the 
 country rock of the region in which they are found. 
 We have there a series of layers of limestone, and 
 of chert or "flint," piled upon each other, varying in 
 thickness from a few feet to twenty and more. 
 Those have existed for a very long time, and the 
 limestones have been subjected to the solvent action 
 of waters percolating through them. These percolat- 
 ing waters have by degrees produced channels along 
 planes of fracture, which have been developed into 
 subtei-ranean passages, have dissolved away whole 
 layers of limestone, allowing the overlying insoluble 
 chert beds to break down, and to partially fill the 
 cavities with their fragments. The clays, so abundant 
 in some deposits, are probably the residues of dis- 
 
 solved limestones, all of which latter have more or 
 less clay in their make-up. In these cavities, in the 
 residuary clays and around the broken rock frag- 
 ments, the zinc ores have been deposited ; brought 
 there in solution, perhaps, by the very waters which 
 have dissolved the limestones, possibly by waters 
 issuing from great depths. That is, the zinc may 
 have been originally disseminated in minute quanti- 
 ties throughout the surrounding limestone rock, and 
 have been concentrated through the medium of the 
 dissolving waters; it may have been similarly 
 collected from overlying beds, or it may possibly 
 have been brought to its present position from a deep 
 source in ascending waters. This is a problem which 
 we are still trying to solve, and which is of vital 
 importance to the successful development of our 
 mining industry. 
 
 Zinc mining in the State is of very recent origin. 
 Zinc ore was taken out along with the lead ore at the 
 Valle mines, and thrown aside on the dumps for 
 many years, but not until 1869 did it become an 
 artijcle of shipment. In the southwest, zinc mining 
 may be considered to have begun in the year 1870, 
 when the Granby mines began to work it. With the 
 increased use of zinc since that time for galvanizing 
 and other purposes, the production has increased 
 rapidly and constantly. During the past sixteen 
 years the price of spelter in New York has varied 
 from 7 cents per pound in 1875 to 4.34 cents in 1885- 
 and to5.05 cents in 1891. 
 
 Concerning the production of zinc ore in Missouri 
 during past years, figures of any kind are ditficult to 
 obtain, and exact figures are in many cases unattain- 
 able. The, table on following page is compiled from 
 figures derived from many different sources, supple- 
 mented by estimates where figures were not attainable. 
 
 The grand total is 1,117,500 tons of ore produced up 
 to and including the year 1890. This, at $22 per ton,, 
 is equal to $24,585,000. 
 
 That the zinc output of the State has reached its 
 maximum rate, no one maintains. That the pi'oduct- 
 ive area is in any way exhausted of ore, there is na 
 reason to think. On the contrary, we look for a con- 
 tinued discovery of fresh deposits as prospecting: 
 advances. That much of the mining of these ores in. 
 the past has been crude and Avasteful is true, and it 
 still remains so to a great extent. Improvements 
 are, however, being introduced both in the mining: 
 and milling of the ores. These factors of success 
 should be given more attention in the future. Pro- 
 fessional knowledge should be applied to the prob- 
 lems presented, to the methods of excavating, of 
 draining, of hoisting, of concentrating; the small, 
 single-handed, hand-to-mouth practices of the past 
 are enormously wasteful and should give way to large 
 projects systematically and scientifically directed. 
 
ZiNx Ore PROorcTiON in Missouri. 
 
 Year. 
 
 1892. 
 1891. 
 1890. 
 1889. 
 1888. 
 1887. 
 1886. 
 1885. 
 1884. 
 1883. 
 1882. 
 1881. 
 1880 ~ 
 
 f 
 
 1876 J 
 
 1875.. 
 
 1874 
 
 1873 
 
 1872 
 
 1871 
 
 1870 
 
 Tons of ore produced. 
 
 131^500 
 
 123,800 
 
 100,200 
 
 82,400 
 
 74,600 
 
 69,400 
 
 58,400 
 
 50,600 
 
 54,000 
 
 45,500 
 
 43,000 
 
 43,600 
 
 170,000 
 
 23,500 
 32,000 
 
 6,000 
 5,000 
 4,000 
 
 Total : 1,117,500 
 
 LEAD ORES. 
 
 Lead ranks next to zinc in prominence as a Mis- 
 souri metal, and her production is only second to 
 Colorado's in the United States. Lead, like zinc, is 
 widely distributed over the State, is known to occur 
 in thirty or more counties, and was mined during the 
 past year in fourteen. Much of the lead ore occurs 
 associated directly with the zinc ores, and the two 
 are mined togetlier; but elsewhere the lead is by 
 itself. The counties which are at present the prin- 
 cipal lead producers are: St. Francois, Madison, 
 Washington and Jefferson, in the southeast, and 
 Jasper, Lawrence, ^sewton and Greene in the south- 
 west. Of the total lead produced nearly one-half 
 comes from St. Francois county, and nine-tenths 
 comes from the four counties of St. Francois, Madi- 
 son, Jasper and Lawrence. 
 
 The distribution of lead mining among the coun- 
 ties of the State is shown in the following table, as 
 well as the amount of pig lead produced by the 
 several counties during the past year : 
 
 Crawford. 
 Wright. 
 Christian. 
 Hickory. 
 
 Perry 
 
 St. Francois 15,430 
 
 Washington 1,166 
 
 Miller 16 
 
 Greene 264 
 
 Lawrence 3,719 
 
 Newton 812 
 
 PRODUCERS IN P.\ST YE.\RS. 
 
 Morgan. 
 Cooper. 
 Texas. 
 AVebster. 
 
 PRODUCERS IN 1892. 
 
 Tons. 
 4 
 
 Madison . 
 Jefferson. 
 Franklin . 
 
 Cole 
 
 Barry 
 
 Dade 
 
 Camden. 
 Benton. 
 Moniteau. 
 Saline. 
 
 Ton.s. 
 
 2.865 
 268 
 98 
 23 
 55 
 64 
 
 Jasper 7,476 
 
 Total production pig lead in 1892 32,260 
 
 Lead is mined in two forms. One is the familiar 
 galenite or sulphide of lead, the other the cerussite, 
 or carbonate of lead, known as "dry bone." The lat- 
 ter is generally a direct product erf the decomposition 
 of the former, and is found near the surface, while the 
 former is reached at depths. The galenite is the 
 more common and the more valuable ore, it contain- 
 ing about eighty-seven per cent of lead, wdiile the 
 carbonate contains only about seventy-eight per cent. 
 Very little of the latter is now produced. The aver- 
 age price at which galenite was sold at the mines, in 
 1892, was a little over |44.00 per ton. 
 
 The lead ores of the southwest, being immediately 
 associated with the zinc ores, occur in the same 
 formation as the latter, namely in the Mississippian 
 limestones, and the conditions of occurrence are 
 essentially the same. Both the galenite and the 
 cerussite are found here; the former, however, in 
 greatest abundance. The lead ores of the southeast, 
 however, occur in much older rocks, in what are 
 known as the Cambrian limestones, and little zinc 
 ore is found associated with them, excepting at the 
 Valle mines and others in that vicinity. The condi- 
 tions under which they are found are also remark- 
 ably different from those of the ores of the southwest. 
 The latter occur in a more or less concentrated state, 
 in large crystals, in cavities, or in irregular deposits, 
 whereas these southeastern ores are found through 
 solid limestone rock, generally in small crystals, in 
 a disseminated condition, and hence are called "dis- 
 seminated ores," in contradistinction to the concen- 
 trated ores of the southwest. Moreover, they occur 
 in certain layers or strata of limestone, and, hence, 
 may be considered in a stratified condition, though 
 
Pig Lead Production in Missouri. 
 
 Year 
 1892. 
 1891. 
 1890. 
 1889. 
 1888. 
 1887. 
 1886. 
 188.5. 
 1884. 
 1883. 
 1882. 
 1881. 
 1880. 
 1879. 
 1878, 
 1877. 
 1876. 
 1875. 
 1874 
 1878. 
 1872. 
 1871. 
 1870. 
 1869 
 18681 
 
 1720 j 
 
 Tons of pig lead produced. 
 
 . 32,260 
 
 31,000 
 
 28,840 
 
 31,590 
 
 22,610 
 
 16,720 
 
 22,780 
 
 20,916 
 
 14,330 
 
 18,390 
 
 23,870 
 
 25,630 
 
 24,850 
 
 22,386 
 
 23,112 
 
 24,680 
 
 22,550 
 
 16,480 
 
 15,160 
 
 13,840 
 
 10,220 
 
 6,840 
 
 7,060 
 
 6,480 
 
 45,560 
 
 50,400 
 
 4,500 
 31,200 
 
 3,900 
 
 5,590 
 
 16,095 
 
 Total 639,839 
 
the ore is not found co-extensive witli the limestone 
 rock in which it occurs at any point. The lead ores 
 of Mine La Motte, Doe Run and Bonne Terre are 
 such. The ore is here exclusively galenite as at pres- 
 ent mined. The carbonate was extensively dug 
 during the earlier years of mining, from shallow 
 surface deposits, but, at the greater depths at which 
 mining is now carried, this ore is not found. 
 
 Lead is recognized as the metal which has been 
 longest mined in the State. L^p to quite recent date, 
 however, this mining was confined to the southeast- 
 ern part. As already stated we find mention of lead 
 mining as early as the year 1700. In 1723, Mine La 
 Motte, in Madison county, was discovered, and mining 
 of the surface ores w-as begun, and has been intermit- 
 tingly continued ever since. The "Old Mines" near 
 Potosi, in Washington county, were discovered in 
 1726, and the Mine Renault, in the same county, about 
 the same date. In 1763, the Mine a Burton, also near 
 Potosi, was discovered, and about the year 1800 a 
 number of mines in St. Francois county were opened. 
 The Valle mine, in St. Francois county, was discovered 
 in 1824, and the Perry mine about the same time ; the 
 Virginia mines, in Franklin county, in 1834; the 
 Avon mines, in Ste. Genevieve, in 1848. Mining on 
 a large scale was begun at the St. Joe mines, in St. 
 Francois county, as late as 1868, while the Doe Run 
 mines were not opened until 1888. About the ear- 
 liest record of mining on a commercial scale in the 
 southwest is in 1850, where it is recorded tjiat about 
 100,000 pounds of lead were produced in Newton 
 county. The Granby mines in the same county 
 bagan operations about the year 1854. Concerning 
 the production of pig lead in Missouri, we have com- 
 piled and estimated from various sources the figures 
 (jl the table on page 19. 
 
 From this table we see that, during the past 
 two decades, fully two-thirds of the total output has 
 lieen produced. The average price of lead up to the 
 end of the year 1803 is estimated to have been 
 5 cents ; from 1804 to 1854, 4 cents ; from 1855 to 1874, 
 7 cents; from 1875 to 1890, 4 cents. The average 
 price of lead in the New York market in 1873 was 
 6.32 cents per pound; from this it declined, with 
 fluctuations, to 3.61 cents in 1878, and from that date 
 it has risen, with fluctuations, to 4.35 cents in 1891. 
 Despite these fluctuations, however, the production 
 in the State has continued to increase, as is exhibited 
 in the table. Applying various approximate values 
 for the different periods to the different products up 
 to 1892 inclusive, the value of the product is, in round 
 numbers, §56,000,000. 
 
 The future of lead mining in the State is a 
 question of considerable moment to its industrial 
 growth. A comparison of the production of the year 
 1892 with that of 1891 shows an increase of 1,260 tons 
 for the latter year, or about 4 per cent. Will this 
 rate of increase be maintained, and for how long? 
 An increase of lead production in the southwest will 
 undoubtedly accompany the increase of zinc produc- 
 tion which we have already stated is probable; but 
 as only about a fourth of the production of lead is 
 
 from that region, it is evident that we must look to a 
 vigorous sustenance of the industry in the southeast 
 for the rate to be increased, or even maintained. 
 For this we cannot rely entirely upon the mines 
 which are now the largest producers ; they must be 
 supplemented by the discovery of new ore bodies, 
 and by the opening of new mines. Prospecting is 
 now in progress in various sections of this region, 
 and much success has attended some of the opera- 
 tions. The work of the Geological Survey in the 
 district is not far enough advanced for specific pre- 
 dictions to be ventured here ; that within the great 
 untouched areas of the formations containing these 
 ores extensive and yet undiscovered ore bodies exist, 
 is, however, probable. 
 
 IRON ORES. 
 
 Iron mining in the State is confined to a portion 
 lying south of the Missouri river and east of the 
 marginal line of the Coal Measure. Within this area 
 mining has been prosecuted during the past year in 
 the following seven counties : 
 
 Tons 
 
 Dent 24,800 
 
 Howell 300 
 
 Iron 7,000 
 
 Tons. 
 
 St. Francois 79,000 
 
 Crawford 13,800 
 
 Phelps 1,300 
 
 Franklin 300 
 
 Total production of iron ore during 1892 ... 126,500 
 
 During preceding years iron ores have been 
 mined to a considerable extent in nine other counties 
 as follows : 
 
 Stoddard. 
 Bollinger. 
 Wavne. 
 
 Washington. 
 
 Callaway. 
 
 Butler. 
 
 Madison. 
 
 Oregon. 
 
 Camden. 
 
 Geologically, the iron ores occur associated with 
 the rocks of nearly every formation in the State, 
 from the Archean to the Pleistocene, but the manner 
 of their occurrence in these formations is quite 
 different. The iron ores of the Archean and Algon- 
 kian formations are the most widely known and 
 have yielded the bulk of the product to date. These 
 are the familiar specular ores of the Iron Mountain 
 and Pilot Knob mines. They are Missouri's best 
 ores with the largest percentage of iron and are 
 mostly of Bessemer grade. The ore at Pilot Knob 
 occurs in a great sheet in Algonkian rocks, while at 
 Iron Mountain it occurs in tongue-like masses or 
 veins penetrating the porphyry in an irregular 
 manner. Another class of ore, known as detrital 
 ore, occurs at both points and consists of boulders 
 scattered through the superficial material over the 
 surface, or along the contact between the pori^hyry 
 and overlying Cambrian limestones and sandstones. 
 The mode of origin of the massive ore in the porphyry 
 is a somewhat obscure question; it was probably 
 deposited from a solution of iron in water, either in 
 cavities existing in the porphyry or by replacement 
 of the original materials of the rock with iron from 
 such solutions. The immediate origin of the detrital 
 ore is a simple question ; that over the present surface 
 having accumulated through the decomposition of the 
 porphyry since Paleozoic times, while that between 
 
the limestone and porphyry was accumulated in a 
 similar manner before the deposition of the rocks of 
 that series. 
 
 In the second class of ores are the specular and red 
 hematites of Crawford, Dent and Phelps counties, 
 which have been sources of large supply during past 
 years. These are also excellent ores, but the iron 
 content is not so high nor is the percentage of 
 Bessemer grade so large as with the specular ores of 
 the porphyries. These ores occur generally in strat- 
 ified rocks of Cambrian age, and are frequently closely 
 associated with the sandstones of that formation; 
 they are also found in the Mississippian formation. 
 Their mode of occurrence is peculiar, they having 
 evidently accumulated in cavities formed in the 
 limestones. Thus, at the Cherry Valley mine, in 
 Crawford county, we have a great depression, like 
 an inverted cone, from which half a million tons of 
 ore have been taken. The sandstone beds, which 
 flank the sides of this cone, and the remnants of 
 such beds which occur in the ore body, dip towards 
 tlie center of the cavity, indicating that, from the 
 solution of a great layer of limestone, a cavity was 
 formed into which the overlying and insoluble sand- 
 stones sank as the roof of the cavity collapsed. In 
 this cavity waters accumulated bearing iron in solu- 
 tion, which was leached from the surrounding rocks, 
 and there the air oxidized the iron contents and 
 caused its deposition. By a long continuation of 
 this process the great body of ore has accumulated. 
 
 The third class of iron ores of noteworthy impor- 
 tance are the limonites of the southern and extreme 
 southeastern counties. These are comparatively low 
 in iron content, averaging about forty-seven pe^: 
 cent, and are generally non-Bessemer. They are, 
 however, very abundant, and deserve more consider- 
 ation than they have received. The ores mined in 
 Howell county are of this class. The mode of occur- 
 rence of these ores, and the manner in which they 
 have been formed, are similar to those of the last 
 class. They occur in the limestones and sandstones 
 of the Cambrian system, and have apparently accum- 
 ulated in cavities in these rocks, like the former. 
 They occur in an earthy and porous condition, mixed 
 with chert and other foreign materials, and also as 
 pipe stem ore which has accumulated, like stalactites, 
 from drippings of chalybeate waters; the latter is 
 generally the better ore. 
 
 From what has been said concerning the occurrence 
 of these ores, it is evident that they are of uncertain 
 distribution, and their existence at any point, is, in a 
 certain sense, adventitious. They are not confined 
 to any one stratum, as is coal, nor to any one forma- 
 tion. They exist where the rocks and the conditions 
 of erosion and deposition were favorable for their 
 accumulation. They can only be discovered by 
 detailed examination over each area. There are few 
 general laws governing their distribution to guide one. 
 
 The earliest iron mining in the State was in 1815, 
 on Shepherd mountain, in Iron county, and the next 
 was in Crawford county, at the Harrison-Reeves 
 bloomery, in 1820. At the Meramec mine, in Phelps 
 
 county, mining was begun as early as the year 182H. 
 The Meramec furnace was built in the year 1828, but 
 the first blast furnace erected in [Missouri w^as by 
 Eversol, Perry and Kuggles, in 1823 to 1824, between 
 Potosi and Caledonia. At Iron Mountain, mining 
 did not begin until 1844, when surface ore was 
 dug by the American Iron Mountain Company. The 
 first iron ore was smelted there in 1848, when furnace 
 No. 1 was put in blast. Soon after 1858, on the com- 
 pletion of the Iron INIountain Railway to Pilot KnoV), 
 the first shipments were made. In 1869, the present 
 Iron Mountain Company was organized. The la.st 
 iron made at Iron Mountain was in 1887, and up to 
 that date the total amount of pig made there was 
 192,731 tons. The total amount of ore mined at Iron 
 Mountain up to the year 1892 is, approximately, 
 3,500,000 gross tons. Pilot Knob was first entered in 
 1835, but Httle work was done until 1847. In 1848 the 
 first furnace was built. About 1853 the Pilot Knob 
 Iron Company was organized. The total amount of ore 
 which has been mined at Pilot Knob to date is about 
 1,500,000 tons, and, in addition, about 107,000 tons 
 have been taken from Shepherd Mountain and 
 adjacent points. 
 
 In Franklin county, a few deposits were worked 
 between the years 1855 and 1860, and supplied the 
 old Franklin furnace near Moselle, which was erected 
 in 1859. In Crawford county, the Scotia iron furnace 
 was erected in 1849; the Benton Creek mine was 
 opened in 1873, and the Steelville, Grover and Iron 
 Ridge banks were operated about the same time. 
 Cherry Valley was not opened until 1878. In Dent 
 county, the Simmons Mountain and a few other 
 banks were operated in 1874. In Phelps count}-, the 
 Meramec, Buckland and Beaver Creek banks were 
 operated in the same year. 
 
 The table on the following page shows the growth 
 and decline of Missouri's iron production from its 
 beginning to the present. 
 
 The total amount of iron ore produced to date is, 
 thus, 7,715,124 tons ; from different values applied to 
 different periods we obtain as the value of this total 
 product the sum of $30,050,612. 
 
 The decline in Missouri's iron product is in sharp 
 contrast to the increase in i:)roduction of her other 
 minerals, and calls for serious consideration. In 1880, 
 she ranked sixth in the Union; in 1890, tenth; in 
 1891, thirteenth, and she now probably ranks still 
 lower. This sudden fall is to be attributed, in large 
 part, to the cessation of work at the Pilot Knob mine, 
 which was practically abandoned last year. That 
 the well-known deposits of specular ores in the State 
 can no longer play the important part in the iron 
 industry that they have in the past seems unfortu- 
 nately probable. If the industry is to be maintained 
 other sources of supply must be developed. Among 
 the most promising fields for future activities, obser- 
 vations lead one to point to the limonites of the south- 
 ern part of the State, which have heretofore 
 remained practically unnoticed. That they are lower 
 in iron contents and inferior in grade to the high- 
 class ores used in the past, is not disputed. But that 
 
Iron Ore Production in Missouri. 
 
 Year. 
 
 1892... 
 
 1891... 
 
 1890... 
 
 1889... 
 
 1888... 
 
 1887... 
 
 1886... 
 
 1885... 
 
 1884... 
 
 1883... 
 
 18821 
 
 1881 J 
 
 1880... 
 
 1879 
 
 1872 J 
 1871.. 
 1870., 
 18691 
 
 1861 
 1860^ 
 
 1850, 
 1849^ 
 
 1815 
 
 Tons of ore produced. 
 
 126,000 
 
 138,356 
 
 232,835 
 
 265,718 
 
 217,931 
 
 427,785 
 
 379,776 
 
 234,160 
 
 233,235 
 
 295.430 
 
 604,007 
 
 , 386,197 
 
 , 2,582,694 
 
 240,000 
 . 316,000 
 
 , 625,000 
 
 310,000 
 
 100.000 
 
 Total. 
 
 7.715,124 
 
 they are so much so as to be of no practical use is 
 not the case. Their distribution, quantities and 
 qualities have been determined by recent work of 
 the State Geological Survey and a report just dis- 
 tributed deals at length with these ores. That they 
 will bear shipment does not seem probable, but their 
 development will probably best be by the establish- 
 ment of furnaces and the production of pig within 
 the mining region itself. 
 
 COAL. 
 
 Of the four prominent mineral products of Mis- 
 souri, coal, iron, zinc and lead, coal is the most wide- 
 spread, and is, doubtless, the most important when 
 measured either by tons or by values. Its mode of 
 occurrence is also the simplest. 
 
 The coal within the Coal Measure or Pennsylvan- 
 ian area lies in beds or sheets, between similar beds 
 of limestone, shale or clay, piled one upon the other 
 
 to thicknesses of many hundreds of feet. Thus coal 
 beds are sometimes near the surface, and are some- 
 times buried at great -depths. They are sometimes 
 continuous over areas of many square miles, and 
 sometimes dwindle from a workable to an insignifi- 
 cant thickness within the same square mile. The 
 greatest development of coal beds in the State is over 
 the marginal area, as is indicated by the distribution 
 of coal mines ; here the beds are also nearer the sur- 
 face, which makes them more accessible. In the 
 extreme northwestern counties there is less available 
 coal of workable thickness, though we have there the 
 greatest accumulation of Coal Measure rocks, (a 
 thickness of about 2,000 feet) . 
 
 Just what is "workable thickness" is, of course, a 
 variable term. In Pennsylvania a bed less than three 
 feet thick was not considered workable, and would 
 not compete with other beds five and more feet thick. 
 In Missouri beds as little as eighteen inches thick 
 
Coal Production in Missouri. 
 
 Year. 
 1892. 
 1891. 
 1890. 
 1889. 
 1888 
 1887 
 1886, 
 1885, 
 1884, 
 1883 
 1882, 
 1881. 
 1880. 
 1879. 
 1878. 
 1877. 
 1876. 
 1875. 
 1874. 
 1873. 
 1872 
 1871 
 1870 
 1869 
 
 Tons Produced. 
 
 3,017,000 
 
 2,650,000 
 
 2,437,399 
 
 2,223,000 
 
 4,023,000 
 
 .1,800,000 
 .2,750,000 
 .2,500,000 
 .2,250,000 
 .2,000,000 
 .1,750,000 
 .1,144,618 
 . 900,000 
 . 900,000 
 . 900,000 
 . 900,000 
 . 750,000 
 . 714,000 
 . 700,000 
 .1,321,930 
 
 . 621,930 
 
 .8,302,195 
 
 100,000 
 
 272,255 
 
 8,903 
 
 Total 44,936,230 
 
are extensively worked with profit, in fact as much 
 as one-fourth of the annual production is from beds 
 not over two leet thick. The reasons for this are in 
 the conditions of the trade and in the manner of 
 occurrence of the coal. The greatest thickness of 
 any one coal bed in tlie State maintained over a con- 
 siderable area, is about five feet ; that is of a coal 
 bed within the area of what Ave may term the regular 
 Coal ^Measures. Beyond the margin of this forma- 
 tion, however, there are isolated deposits of coal of 
 more limited superficial area, but of great vertical 
 dimensions. These are familiarly known as "coal 
 pockets." The coal in these pockets sometimes has 
 the phenomenal thickness of fifty and even seventy 
 feet. These deposits have frequently given rise to 
 false hopes and illusions. The supply of coal which 
 any one of them can yield is always comi^aratively 
 small and will never warrant very large outlay for 
 the development. The area of the Coal Measures of 
 Missouri is, approximately, 23,000 square miles, dis- 
 tributed over fifty-seven counties in whole or in part. 
 Coal pockets occur in many other counties. It occu- 
 pies nearly the entire half of the State north of the 
 Missouri river and extends south of that stream 
 along the western border of the State in a strip 
 nearly fifty miles wide. It thus occupies almost 
 exclusively what we have termed the prairie country 
 of the State. 
 
 During the year 1892 there was mined, according 
 to the State Mine Inspector's figures, 3,017,000 tons, 
 distributed in the thirty-three counties as follows : 
 
 Tons. Tons. 
 
 Macon 685,335 Bates 659,924 
 
 Lafayette 347,600 Randolph 297,011 
 
 Rav 272,948 Henry 137,258 
 
 Putnam 134,984 Vernon 119,036 
 
 Barton 108,784 Caldwell 38,333 
 
 Linn 35,588 Audrain 29,792 
 
 Grundv 28,670 Boone 21,058 
 
 Callawav 16,551 Montgomery 16,039 
 
 Adair 14,820 Johnson.....' 10,485 
 
 Sulhvan 8,800 Dade 6,881 
 
 St. Clair 5,405 Saline 4,440 
 
 Cedar 4,181 Cooper 3,666 
 
 Chariton . 2,312 Nodaway 1,850 
 
 Cole 1,548 Carroll 1,380 
 
 Livingston 1,000 Schuyler 766 
 
 Pettis 433 Ralls 280 
 
 Miller 127 
 
 Total amount of coal mined during 1892... 3,017,285 
 
 Coal digging was probably practiced by early 
 settlers for forge uses, and similar small local pur- 
 poses. From such beginnings the coal industry 
 grew, and it is thus impossible to set a definite date 
 for its birth. One of the earliest references is that 
 of Captain Pike in 1806, who speaks of fine seams of 
 coal far up the Osage river. In the report of the 
 Lewis and Clarke expedition, performed during the 
 years 1804 to 1806, the existence of coal in the State 
 is also mentioned. According to a congressional 
 report, there was mined in the State in the year 1840, 
 8,903 tons of coal. From other sources we learn that 
 there was weighed at the city scales of St. Louis in 
 1846 about 70,000 tons, the great advance being 
 ascribed to the increase in the business, and the 
 number of founderies and factories in the city. 
 
 Between the years 1850 and 1860 a large uiiuhmi; i.i 
 coal was mined in St. Louis county, but we iiave as 
 yet obtained no figures indicating the amount pro- 
 duced. In 1860, coal was mined for shipment at 
 Carbon, Macon City, Bevier, Lexington and St. 
 Louis. The product at Lexington supplied most of 
 the steamboat trade. The first coal mined on the 
 Missouri Pacific Railway, we are informed by Prof. 
 G. C. Broadhead, was in 1867, by the Pacific Coal 
 Company, near Center Town, in Cole county, and 
 was from a pocket. Mines in Johnson county were 
 opened soon after this. 
 
 From the recorded statistics of production, com- 
 bined with estimates where exact data were not 
 attainable, the table of coal produced to date has 
 been compiled. (See preceding page.) 
 
 From this table it is seen that the total amount 
 of coal thus far produced is, in round numbers, 
 45,000,000 tons; this, at a valuation of $1.50 per ton, 
 represents $67,500,000. 
 
 REVIEW. 
 
 This completes what will here be said concerning 
 the four prominent mineral products of Missouri. 
 Reviewing this we see that of these there has bc'eu 
 produced, up to and including the year 1892, tlie 
 following amounts : 
 
 ^Production in 1892-^ Total produced to date. 
 Tons. Values. Tons. Values. 
 
 Zinc ore... 131,487 $2,862,475 1,117,500 $24,585,000 
 Pig lead.... 32,260 2,194,029 639,839 56,000,000 
 Iron ore... 126,500 234,607 7,715,124 30,050,612 
 Coal 3,017,285 3,825,828 44,936,230 67,500,000 
 
 Total. ..3,307,553 $9,116,939 54,408,693 $178,135,612 
 Referring to the tables accompanying the preced- 
 ing pages we see that lead has been produced for the 
 longest period, iron for the next greatest, coal nest, 
 and zinc last. That the value of the coal product is the 
 greatest and is represented by a very large bulk, which 
 is significant as indicating the amount of traffic which 
 a coal industry gives rise to ; that the value of pig 
 lead product is next, but is represented by an almost 
 insignificant bulk as compared with coal; that the 
 value of the zinc product is third, but is represented 
 by a somewhat larger bulk than lead, due to tlie fact 
 that the tonnage is of ore and not of spelter ; that 
 the value of the iron ore produced is least of all, but 
 is represented by a comparatively large bulk. The 
 productions of zinc, coal and lead have increased, 
 and this more rapidly with the zinc than with any 
 one of the others. The production of iron in the 
 State was large and increasing between the years 
 1870 and 1887, but it has fallen off alarmingly 
 during the past few years. The value at present 
 of the annual production of coal, zinc and lead 
 are not very widely separated, being about four, 
 three and two millions of dollars respectively ; 
 while the iron product represents a value of less 
 than one-quarter of a million. 
 
 That Missouri has prominent rank as an ore pro- 
 ducer is evident from comparisons made with other 
 States of the LTnion. Of these products, her lead, 
 zinc and coal are articles of traffic and export, as are 
 
also her clays and limes, and her supplies of these 
 are large. They are thus sources of direct income, 
 and, in addition, supply home needs. In other 
 materials for domestic consumption the State is also 
 splendidly endowed, and, as her population increases, 
 and her local industries develop, the full value of 
 these possessions will become more and more appre- 
 ciated. 
 
 CLAYS AND SHALES. 
 
 Missouri possesses in great abundance clays suit- 
 able for all ordinary uses, such as the manufacture 
 of common, fire and ornamental brick, for paving 
 brick, sewer pipe, drain tile and pottery. In addi- 
 tion, she possesses large quantities of superior fire 
 clays, which have, so far, been principally used for 
 the manufacture of fire brick, glass house pots and 
 gas retorts. Recent work of the State Geological 
 Survey is further developing the fact that there are 
 also large deposits of clays suitable for the manufac- 
 ture of stoneware and china. So far as investiga- 
 tions have gone to date, the following is a list of the 
 counties in the State which contain clays of the 
 characters specified : 
 
 Fire Clays. — St. Louis, Franklin, Crawford, 
 Phelps, Morgan, Cooper, Henry, Warren, Callaway, 
 Audrain, Randolph, Greene and Clay. 
 
 Stmievare Clays. — Stoddard, Scott, St. Louis, 
 Moniteau, Cooper, Morgan, Henry, Cass, Vernon, 
 Barton, Jasper, Christian, Polk, Monroe, Shelby. 
 
 China Clays and Kaolin. — Cape Girardeau, Bol- 
 linger, Iron, Jefferson, Oregon, Howell, Morgan. 
 
 The clays for common uses are derived chiefly 
 from the loess, or from residuary products of rock 
 decay. Paving brick is manufactured largely from 
 Coal Measure shales, as is also much of the sewer 
 pipe and drain tile. Fire brick, pots and retorts are 
 made largely from the Coal Measure clays, especially 
 in the works of St. Louis. A^arious proportions of 
 what are known as "rock clays" are, however, 
 mixed with these. Some fire clays, stoneware and 
 china clays of the State occur in pockets in older rocks, 
 from the Cambriail up to the Mississippian. They are 
 hence of doubtful age, though of comparatively 
 recent formation. They are altogether peculiar 
 deposits, both as regards the conditions of occur- 
 rence, as "v\'ell as the character of the material. 
 
 The common clay products used in ordinary build- 
 ing purposes are manufactured in all the larger towns 
 of the State. Excellent paving brick are produced 
 at Moberly, in Randolph county. There are large 
 sewer pipe works at St. Louis and Kansas City. 
 Fire brick and other refractory clay products are 
 made on a large scale in St. Louis ; also at Fulton in 
 Callaway county, and Mexico and Vandalia in 
 Audrain county and in Montgomery county. Potter- 
 ies are operated in St. Louis, Kansas City, Henry 
 county and at a few other points in the State. 
 ,f Missouri clays have a high reputation, especially 
 8 the fire clays. The products, as well as the raw ma- 
 B terial, have been shipped to all parts of this country 
 ' and to foreign countries also, such as Mexico, South 
 
 America and Africa. They are destined to have a 
 great development in the future, and will be the basis 
 of a large industry. 
 
 BUILDING STONES. 
 
 Missouri is abundantly supplied with building 
 stones for all ordinary home uses, and shipments are 
 made from many of her quarries to foreign points. 
 In this list are included limestone, marble, sandstone 
 and granite, and, for ornamental purposes, Mexican 
 onyx. Among the limestones, the most prominent 
 source of building material, are the Mississippian 
 beds which are quarried about St. Louis, near Spring- 
 field in Greene county, in Dade county, at Carth- 
 age in Jasper county, about Hannibal in Marion 
 county, about Louisiana in Pike county. This stone 
 is of a light gray color, coarse-grained, crystalline 
 and often takes a fine polish. From some of the 
 quarries it can be obtained in blocks of almost 
 any dimensions required. Fine joints sometimes 
 traverse this rock in a horizontal direction, known as 
 "Crows feet" or "suture joints." These, though 
 not directly impairing the strength of the stone, are 
 lines of attack and will become lines of weakness 
 with long exposure. 
 
 The marbles of the State are confined principally 
 to the southeastern portion, to Iron, Madison, Rey- 
 nolds and Ste. Genevieve counties. Some so-called 
 marble has been found in northern "Warren and 
 Montgomery counties. None of this stone has been 
 extensively used so far. The beds in Madison and 
 Iron counties are seldom over a foot thick and are 
 often less. The stone is gray, pink and red colors, 
 often beautifully marked. The Ste. Genevieve 
 county bed is thicker, but not uniform in texture, 
 though often handsomely marked. Quite extensive 
 openings have been made in these latter beds, and 
 some of the product has been shipped to Chicago, 
 but the obstacles in the way of transportation, and 
 other causes, have prevented their extensive devel- 
 opment. 
 
 The sandstones of Missouri are of excellent 
 quality, and are very abundant at a number of places. 
 Some of the best stone in the State is found in Ste. 
 Genevieve county, a few miles south of the town of 
 that name. The stone was quarried extensively 
 between the years 1873 and 1887. The face at 
 present exposed is about twenty feet high. The stone 
 is of a huffish yellow color. It has been used in the 
 approaches of the Eads bridge over the Mississippi 
 river at St. Louis, in the Iowa State House and in 
 other important structures. Grindstones are also 
 manufactured from this stone. The Warrensburg 
 sandstone, in Johnson county, is operated by a 
 number of quarries in which faces fifty or more feet 
 high are exposed. This stone is extensively used in 
 Kansas City and other places in large and handsome 
 buildings. It is of a uniform light drab and also of a 
 yellowish color. At Miami, Carroll county, is the 
 White Rock quarry. Here a face some sixty feet 
 high is exposed. The stone is similar to that at 
 Warrensburg; large quantities have been quarried 
 
for window and door sills and caps and for other 
 purposes. In Vernon county are a number of de- 
 .posits of sandstone of good quality, but some is 
 adapted only to interior work. 
 
 The onyx of Missouri is of the variety known as 
 Mexican, and is arragonite or carbonate of lime. It 
 has been developed only quite recently, chiefly in 
 Crawford and Pulaski counties. It is also known to 
 occur in Howell, Stone, Barry, Laclede, Camden, 
 Morgan and other counties ; nothing more than 
 specimens have been obtained as yet from these 
 counties, however. It is generally of a brown or buff 
 color, though sometimes of a clouded white ; it admits 
 of a high polish and is often translucent. It is 
 generally found in caves and is a product of the 
 deposition of lime from percolating waters. 
 
 LIMES, SANDS AND GRAVELS. 
 
 Of these common materials of construction Mis- 
 souri has an abundant supply. Limes of the very 
 best grades are manufactured at several points in the 
 State. Large quarries and kilns are operated in and 
 about St. Louis, at Hannibal in Marion county, at 
 Louisiana in Pike county, at Ste. Genevieve, at Cape 
 Girardeau, at Springfield and at Ashgrove in Greene 
 county, at Carthage in Jasper county, and in 
 Callaway county, and at other points in the State. 
 The rock used in all these cases, with the exception 
 of Cape Girardeau, is from the Mississippian series. 
 It is a remarkably pure limestone, especially that 
 quarried at Louisiana. 
 
 Sands and gravels are abundant along the streams 
 in all parts of the State, but especially south of the 
 Missouri river. Sand is dredged from the channels 
 of the Missouri and Mississippi rivers at several 
 points. The river bars are also sources of gravel, but 
 the glacial deposits and river terraces of earlier 
 Pleistocene age are perhaps more frequently resorted 
 to. In the vicinity of Pacific, and at other points in 
 Franklin county, beds of gravel occur well above the 
 present flood plains of the stream. These are mixed 
 with a ferruginous clay W'hich becomes very much 
 compacted under wagon or foot travel. Many car- 
 loads of this gravel are shipped to St. Louis annually 
 and used for a top dressing along some of the streets 
 and boulevards. 
 
 MINERAL WATERS. 
 
 Missouri possesses a large number of mineral 
 waters, many of which are of undoubted therapeutic 
 value. They are not confined to any one part of the 
 State, but are most abundant in the central and 
 western portions. These waters have recently re- 
 ceived extended study, and, as a result, they are 
 divided into the following five classes : 
 
 (1) Muriatic waters, (2) Alkaline waters, (3) Sul- 
 phatic waters, (4) Chalybeate waters, (5) Sulphur 
 waters. 
 
 The Muriatic waters are essentially brines, and 
 salt is their main and distinguishing constituent. 
 They are among the most abundant in the State, and 
 the volume of their flow at some of the springs is 
 
 very large. The amount of mineral matter in the 
 different waters varies greatly and ranges as high as 
 1800 grains to the gallon. In Alkaline waters sodium 
 or magnesium carbonate are the distinguishing con- 
 stituents. Comparatively few of such waters are 
 recognized in the State, and those examined are not 
 highly m.ineralized, the maximum amount of mineral 
 matter contained being 95 grains to the gallon. Sul- 
 phatic waters contain one or more sulphates as their 
 distinguishing constituents. Very few of these have 
 been discovered. They contain as much as 570 grains 
 to the gallon. The Chalybeate waters are very 
 abundant in the State ; they are distinguished by 
 containing ferrous carbonate in solution. The maxi- 
 mum amount of mineral water contained in any 
 examined so far is 150 grains to the gallon. Only 
 two Sulphur waters have been determined. These 
 contain sulphur combined as a sulphide or sulphy- 
 drate. The waters analyzed contain about 120 grains 
 to the gallon. 
 
 Most of the mineral springs in the State are 
 frequented by people living in the neighborhood and 
 a large number are improved, so as to provide for the 
 care of at least a few guests. Extensive or complete 
 improvements of a sanitarium have been made only 
 at a few places. The most important of these are at 
 Excelsior Springs in Clay county, near Kansas City, 
 at Lebanon in Laclede county, at Pertle Springs in 
 Johnson county, at Sweet Springs in Saline county, 
 at Clinton in Henry county, and at Nevada in 
 Vernon county. 
 
 MINOR MINERAL PRODUCTS. 
 COPPER, BARYTES, GLASS SANDS AND SILVER. 
 
 Copper. — Among the minor mineral products cop- 
 per ore is of quite frequent occurrence, generally in 
 the form of the sulphide, chalcopyrite, or of the car- 
 bonate, malachite. The principal occurrences of such 
 ore are Ste. Genevieve, Shannon and Franklin coun- 
 ties. It is found at these places in the magnesian 
 limestones of Cambrian age; the ore follows the 
 stratification planes, but is apparently formed by 
 replacement subsequent to the deposition of the 
 rocks. At the Cornwall mines, in Ste. Genevieve 
 county, extensive mining operations were prosecuted 
 in the past and reduction works were erected. At 
 present no mining of copper ore is done in the State. 
 
 Barytes. — In production of barytes, Missouri ranks 
 second in the Union, according to the figures of the 
 11th census, and her product is credited with being 
 the purest. In 1889 the production was 7,558 tons, 
 valued at $32,715, and in 1892 it was about 10,000, 
 valued at nearly 140,000. This production is distri- 
 buted over Washington, St. Francois, Miller, Morgan 
 and Jefferson counties. Nearly four fifths coming 
 from the first-named county. The material is obtain- 
 ed largely from the dump piles of old lead mines, it 
 being found in crevices in the limestone associated 
 with the lead ore. At some localties it is dug directly. 
 The product is used chiefly in the manufacture of 
 paint. 
 
Glass iSands.— Sands suitable for the nianufucturo 
 of plate and other qualities of glass are abundant in 
 the eastern part of the State, especially in Franklin, 
 Jefferson and Ste. Genevieve counties. The forma- 
 tion known as the Saccharoidal sandstone is the chief 
 source of this material. Such sand is dug and 
 shipped at Pacific and Tavern Rock in Franklin 
 county. About 750 carloads, valued at $10.00 per 
 car, were shipped in the year 1892. At Crystal 
 City, in Jefferson county, an equal amount of sand 
 was shipped, and, in addition, the large plate glass 
 works erected at that place were supplied. F'rom this 
 point 180 carloads of plate glass were shipped in 
 1892, valued at $1,253,000. 
 
 Silver.— The only occurrence of silver in Missouri 
 is at the Einstein silver mines on the St. Francois 
 river, in Madison county. Here a nearly vertical vein 
 of quartz occurs traversing the Archean granite and 
 carrying argentiferous galenite. Picked specimens 
 of the latter yielded to the assay all the way from 
 a fraction of an ounce to 184 ounces to the ton and 
 one specimen much exceeded the last figure. The 
 mine was operated some 13 years ago and an incline 
 and shaft were sunk. The mine has been abandoned 
 ever since for causes which are not clearly known. 
 Many are still confident that paying ore exists here. 
 
 014 572 862 9 i 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS. 
 
 Limitations of space have prevented anything like 
 a full treatment of the many topics included in the 
 preceding article. The attempt has been made to 
 convey in these few pages a clear, but generalized 
 idea of the geology and mineral products of the State 
 of Missouri. The coals, the iron ores and the mineral 
 waters of the State have receiyed quite full treatment 
 in the volumes on these subjects recently issued by 
 the State Geological Survey. A report on the sub- 
 ject of zinc and lead ores is now being prepared by 
 the State Geologist and will be ready for distribution 
 later ; reports on other subjects are prepared 
 or are in course of preparation and will be issued 
 from time to time. To these works the reader is 
 referred for more detailed information. In the pre- 
 ceding article the writer has drawn largely from these 
 reports or manuscripts of the survey', but for the 
 figures of production and shipments during the past 
 few years, he is, in addition, indebted to the pub- 
 lished reports of the State Mine Inspector, Mr. 
 C. C. Woodson, and of the ex-State Labor Com- 
 missioner, Mr. W. C. Hall. 
 
 

A 
 
 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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