A GEOLOGICAL REPORT ON THE ENLOE MINING PROPERTY ALLEN P. RICHARDSON, ESQ., IN CRAWFORD COUNTY, MO. By B. F. SHUMARD, M.D. ST. LOUIS: MISSOURI DEMOCRAT PRINT, COR. FOURTH AND PINE STS. 18GT. ) Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates https://archive.org/details/geologicalreportOOshum $5 3 . THE ENLOE MINES, CRAWFORD COUNTY, MISSOURI. PROF. B. F. SHUMARD’S GEOLOGICAL REPORT. The mineral lands composing these noted mines were entered at an early period by Benjamin Enloe, whose name they bear. A short time after their entry it was discovered they contained rich deposits of lead ore, and superficial mining was commenced by Mr. Enloe, who gave to his miners one-half the mineral raised for their services. Until quite recently no mining has been done on this tract of land, except upon an equal division of the min- eral between the owner and miners raising it. Having secured these lands for mining purposes, and opened several places to prove their richness, I have, in addition to their past history, obtained the judgment of some of the best mineral men of our State as to their productiveness, and with these opin- ions submit the Geological Report and Map of the Mines by Prof. B. F. Shumard, of St. Louis, long engaged in the Geological Survey of Missouri, and late State Geologist for Texas. With this brief statement, I submit Dr. Shumard’s Report, fol- lowed by extracts from the reports of Col. J. H. Mcllvain, of Carondelet, and Judge Murphy, of Washington county, with opin- ions of the press. Both these gentlemen are experienced in min- ing, having been engaged in mining and smelting lead ores for a period of twenty-five to thirty years. Respectfullv, ALLEN P. RICHARDSON, Jefferson City , Mo. REPORT To Allen P. Richardson, Esq. Sir — I have carefully examined your mineral lands in Crawford county, and respectfully submit the following report as the result of my observations : Your property lies in a single body on the east side of Meramec river, in Township 40, Range 2 west, embracing 171 63-100 acres, viz : 40 acres, southeast quarter of the northeast quarter ; 15 13.100 acres, east fractional part of southwest quarter of northeast quarter ; 40 acres, northeast quarter of southeast quarter; 36 50.100 acres, east fractional part northwest quarter of the southeast quarter ; 40 acres, southeast quarter of the southeast quarter. It is advantageously situated about seventy miles from St. Louis, and less than four miles from Sullivan’s Station on the Southwest Branch of the Pacific Railroad, from which point it is readily acces- sible, at all seasons of the year, by good natural gravel roads. It lies in the midst of one of the richest mineral district of Southeast Missouri, and in close proximity to other productive mines. The principal portion of the property consists of elevated hills, from one hundred and fifty to two hundred feet in height, with steep declivi- ties facing the valley of the Meramec on the west, and with mode- rately abrupt slopes on the north. A rich alluvial valley, from fifty to one hundred yards in width, and from twenty-five to thirty acres in extent, passes from east to west through the northern part of the tract, and expands into the Meramec bottom. This valley is excellent agricultual land, well adapted to the growth of the ordinary staples of the country. The hills afford an abundant supply of nutritive grasses for grazing purposes. They are also excellent grape and fruit lands, but the surface is too rocky and broken for farming purposes. Timber. — The entire tract is covered with a luxuriant growth of timber, and greatly in excess of what will be needed for mining and TIIE ENLOE MINING PROPERTY. 5 farming. The surplus may be readily disposed of at the railroad at good prices. The prevailing trees are post, white, chestnut, black and laurel oak, shellbark, pignut and black hickory, locust, hack- berry, white and black walnut, white and sugar maple, sumach, dogwood, redbud, elm, sassafras, ash, and several varieties of grapes. Water. — Your property is abundantly supplied with cool and limpid springs of pure water. Some of them are of unusually large size, furnishing large volumes ot* water. The Big Spring, situated in the northwestern part of the tract, issues from beneath strata of magnesian limestone, and is alone sufficient to furnish all the water that can possibly be needed for mining and agricultural purposes. Adjacent to this spring is an admirable site for a furnace. Geology. — The whole property is based upon the Third or Great Lead-Bearing Magnesian Limestone of Missouri, ex- cepting the summits of the highest hills, which are capped with the second sandstone. The thickness of the formation here is between four and five hundred feet. It consists of thick beds of gray and buff magnesian limestone, sometimes very compact, subcrystalline, and affording a handsome, durable building rock ; at other times it is quite soft and friable, and on exposure crumbles to sand. Inter- calated with the limestone are bands of compact and cellular chert of variable thickness. The formation is well developed along the bluffs of the Meramec, where it exhibits mural faces to the river from sixty to eighty feet high. These harder strata are covered with a variable thickness of tough, red, ferruginous clay, which penetrates the fissures in the strata, and often contains heavy de- posits of ore (float mineral of the miners). Mode of Occurrence of the Ore. — The galena upon this prop- erty occurs in horizontal sheets running parallel with the planes of stratification ; in vertical veins extending indefinitely downward ; in “ clay openings 55 or fissures in the magnesian limestone; and in irregular masses scattered through the superficial clays. A very large proportion of the ore hitherto obtained from these mines has been from shallow workings in the clays, while the more productive lodes in the rocks beneath have been scarcely disturbed by the pick of the miner. 6 THE ENLOE MINING PROPERTY. Amount and Quality of the Ore. — We have no data from which to form an estimate of the exact amount of ore raised from these mines. All agree that, for the time they have been worked, the yield has been unusually large. Judge Murphy, Mr. Westover, and others in whose statements we may place perfect confidence, estimate the amount at several hundred thousand pounds. These gentlemen state that at the Sand Diggings they yielded upward of 50,000 pounds of mineral from a space not exceeding fifty feet square. None of the shafts were over twenty feet in depth, and some of them were much shallower. Judge Murphy also states that from a single shaft, less than fifty feet deep, at the Enloe Mines, he received and smelted, at his furnace in Washington county, 13,034 pounds; and I learn from other parties that an area of about one acre in extent yielded from 250,000 to 300,000 pounds of mineral. The ore obtained from these mines is nearly pure sulphuret of lead, or galena, remarkably free from foreign matters. It occurs in cubical crystals and irregular masses, weighing from an ounce to several hundred pounds, and is capable of yielding in the furnace 72 per cent, of good marketable lead. Some masses have been found weighing upward of 2,000 pounds. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE MINES. Wayne Diggings are upon the eastern declivity of a hill 200 feet high, in the northeast quarter of the southeast quarter of the section. ( See accompanying map. ) They were first opened about eight years ago, and worked very irregularly up to the commencement of the war. They are now being reopened, and with very encouraging prospects that they will yield largely. A series of shallow exca- vations, extending about thirty feet in a north and south direction, have been sunk upon a fissure in the magnesian limestone. From these pits, none of which exceed eight feet in depth, Mr. Wayne obtained 8,000 pounds of mineral. Messrs. Bayless, Westover, and others, state that the lode was from four to six inches thick, and the ore almost wholly unmixed with gangue rock. The workings commenced about one hundred feet above the base of the hill. Bayless’ Diggings lie directly north of the preceding, dn the same slope of the hill, but at a higher elevation. They were dis- TIIE ENLOE MINING PROPERTY. 7 covered during the year 1837. The diggings thickly cover a space of about an acre in extent, and the shafts vary from five to forty feet in depth. The ore has been mined in the surface clays and in fissures traversing the magnesian limestone, usually in a north and south direction. The lodes have not been followed into the harder strata, but when the containing rock could not be conveniently wrought with the pick and shovel, the shafts were abandoned and new ones opened. These shallow workings have yielded between 250,000 and 300,000 pounds of mineral, as we learn from the statements of Messrs. Bayless and Westover, and from prom- inent citizens residing in the vicinity of the mines. The ore is a pure sulphuret of lead, and usually comes from the mines in large masses. From one of the pits, James Garrott took out a mass of mineral weighing 2100 pounds and from another Mr. Bayless raised a mass weighing 2400 pounds. Enloe Diggings. — These diggings occupy a half of an acre upon the summit of the hill, a short distance west of the Bayless. They were discovered by Mr. Enloe in 1836, and by him worked irregu- larly, with one or two hands, at seasons when his farm did not re- quire attention. The ore has been mined in the surface clay, mixed with chert, and in crevices in the magnesian limestone, by shafts sunk from three to forty feet in depth. The mineral occurs in cubes and masses weighing from a few ounces to several hundred pounds, and has been found to extend from the grass roots down as far as the work has been carried. A large portion of the mineral raised at these mines was smelted at Murphy’s - Furnace, in Washington county, and, from the books kept there, I learn that during the years 1853-54 Judge Murphy received 37,428 pounds from the Enloe Diggings, and of this amount a single shaft yielded 13,034 pounds. These mines are regarded by all who have worked in them as being remarkably productive, and among the richest to be found in this region of country. The indications are certainly very favorable that they are capable of producing much larger quantities of ore than they have hitherto yielded. Tunnel Diggings are situated upon the western side of the hill in a ravine formed by a break in the Meramec bluffs. At this place a level has been drifted into the hill a distance of ninety feet, and a miners’ railway laid down for removing the ore and rubbish. The 8 T1IE ENLOE MINING PROPERTY. opening of the level is about fifty feet above the base of the bluff's. At about eighty feet from the opening the miners struck a rich lode of ore, which they have followed to the inner extremity of the level, where is now exhibited a fine display of mineral, traversing, in all directions a run of soft, friable, sandy, magnesian limestone, in- closed in more compact magnesian limestone. This run is four feet wide and nearly two feet high. It may be stated as a fair estimate that this run will yield from two hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds of mineral to the running foot, and the indications all favor the opinion that the lode will in nowise diminish in richness as it is followed into the hill. Indeed, it is believed by intelligent miners that it will increase in size and productiveness. Twenty feet above the level, and south of it, is the “ Sand Dig- gings , 55 where Messrs. Bayless, Sullivan, Enloe and others, in a space fifty feet square, took out fifty thousand pounds of mineral. None of the shafts exceeded twenty feet in depth. The ore was found disseminated through soft calcarious sand derived from the disintegration of the magnesian limestone. The tunnel passes be- neath the northern extremity of the Sand Diggings. Twenty-seven feet above the bottom of the level is the “ Round Lode , 55 which has been well exposed by blasting four or five feet from the face of the bluff. The ore projects in round mass, five or six inches in diameter, from the surface of the rock. It has the appearance of an isolated mass of no great extent occupying an opening in the magnesian limestone. About ten feet south of the “Bound Lode , 55 and upon the same level, a horizontal sheet of mineral appears in the face of the bluff between strata of magnesian limestone. This sheet varies from tw T o and a half to three inches in thickness. Ninety feet further south, galena appears at several points in crevices traversing the rock. Crevice Diggings. — This name has been applied to a series of small vertical fissures containing galena, which appear in the mural faces of the bluffs of the Meramec in the northwest quarter of the southeast quarter of the section. Negro Diggings are situate upon the crest of the hill, nearly west of the “ Crevice Diggings . 55 These are shallow diggings in the clay, worked by negroes. I am informed that they have yielded considerable mineral. THE ENLOE MINING PROPERTY. 9 Surface Diggings. — In the southeast quarter of the southeast quarter of the section are surface workings in the clay. They have afforded mineral in small quantity. Besides the mines above described, considerable amounts of ore have been obtained from other portions of your tract. These, how- ever, do not require special notice, as enough has been said to show that your property is unusually rich in mineral treasures ; and although it has already yielded largely, it is capable of furnishing much larger amounts for an indefinite period. I may unhesitatingly state that I have not observed anywhere in this region evidences of regular and scientific mining, but all the work has been done in the rudest manner, and without a knowledge of the modern appliances of skillful mining. It affords me much pleasure to express the opinion that your mines are among the most valuable in this region of country. Hitherto operations have been confined chiefly to the surface or “ float” min- eral, leaving a great thickness of mineral-bearing strata beneath, inviting the attention of the capitalist and skillful miner. It has already been stated that the third magnesian limestone upon this property has a thickness of from four to five hundred feet, but beneath this is a fourth magnesian limestone from three to four hundred thick, which is also galeniferous ; so that we have here a thickness of: between seven and eight hundred feet of mineral- bearing strata beneath the present workings. Respectfully submitted, B. F. SHUMARD. St. Louis, September 2, 1867. NOTICES OF THE PRESS. The following extracts are from an editorial article in the Mis- souri Democrat of August 24th, 1867 : A RICH LEAD MINE. Some very rich specimens of lead ore have been placed upon our desk, and we are furnished with reliable information of the mines whence they were taken. They are from the Crawford county “Enloe Mines,” now being developed by Colonel Richardson, of Jefferson City, a gentleman well known to the business men of our city and State. We have been shown the reports of Colonel J. M. Mcllvain, of Carondelet, and Judge W. S. Murphy, of Washington county, each experienced in mining. Col. Mcllvain says he exam- ined the tunnel lead, and judges it will yield from two hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds of lead to the lineal foot. Of the quality of the mineral he says, “I never saw any better, and rarely have seen any as good.” Judge Murphy says : “ The Enloe hill is unsurpassed in richness, as regards both the quantity and quality of its lead ore. No mines have yielded a larger amount of pure sulphuret of lead than these, in proportion to the labor expended.” He further says : “There are several well-defined leads now being developed [by Col. Richardson] ; one on the west side of the hill, the other on the oppo- site side — being tunneled through the hill — and they promise a rich reward to his enterprise. The strongest mineral indications abound all over this tract of land, even where no effort has been made by digging, and they are sufficient to remove^every doubt from the mind of any experienced observer as to its internal richness . The deep- est shafts are less than fifty feet, and from one of these, January 18th, 1858, I received from Benj. Enloe, the former owner, 18,034 NOTICES OF THE PRESS. 11 pounds of the best lead ore. At another time subsequent my mineral agent received 24,374 pounds. I presume that several hundred thousand pounds of mineral have been raised on this land, though but little digging has been done.” We have also read the affidavits of George T. Westover, a gentle- man well vouched for by Colonel Mcllvain, who says he has been acquainted with the Enloe mines for twenty years ; that all the min- ing by the former owner had been done by miners to whom he gave one,- half the mineral for the other, and that all taken from the mines was from the first run of mineral, or what are called “surface diggings”, and that the Enloe mines have paid better than any mines in that section of the State, in proportion to the amount of labor and capital expended. These statements are corroborated by others, and all of them at- test the wealth of the tract in question. Plainly, there would be no hazard in mining the hill on an extensive scale, and there is little doubt that the enterprise would enrich the company taking hold of it. Besides the statements made above, we have seen others by per- sons who seem to be entirely disinterested, that speak in the highest terms of the “Enloe Mines.” Col. Richardson is now in this city for the purpose of forming an association to work the mines for their minerals. He does not propose a paper company to sell and do no work, but a working company, he retaining one-half his mine. [ From the St. Louis Dispatch, August 24th, 1SG7.] THE ENLOE LEAD MINES OF CRAWFORD COUNTY. Several newspaper notices have been given of these mines. We have seen and examined the mineral, which is pronounced by good judges to b o pure galena , and equal to any ever raised in this or any other State. It only needs development to prove a rich reward for the labor, capital and enterprise expended. Several examina- tions have been recently made of these mines, and reported upon favorably. The examinations were made by Colonel Mcllvain, of Carondelet, and Judge W. S. Murphy, of Washington county, both of them ex- 12 NOTICES OF THE PRESS. perienced mineral men of high character and integrity, who agree in the opinion that from mineral indications, and from what proofs have already been made, the mineral extends from near the top sur- face of the hill to the base. ******** We are of the opinion that where there are such large bodies of mineral in the top run in such a mountain, there certainly must be larger quantities below. Will our capitalists take hold of the enter- prise, or will they insist on driving enterprising men to the Eastern and Northern cities to raise means to work and develop such pros- pects for mineral ore, and let slip a rich reward for their capital ? For the present, Col. RICHARDSON will be found at the Howard House, Twelfth and Olive streets, St. Louis, where his plans and propositions for the organization of a working company will be fully made known. I