MICHIGAN. The upper peninsula, rich in minerals, prominent among which is copper, is mostly of primitive geological character; the lower exclusively secondary. The copper deposits among the primary rocks of the northern peninsula are the richest in the world, the copper belt being one hundred and twenty miles long and from two to six miles wide. A block of several tons of almost pure copper, taken from the mouth of Ontonagon river, has been built into the wall of the Washington monument at the national capital. A mass weighing one hundred and fifty tons was uncovered in 1854 in the North American mine.

Isle Royale abounds in this mineral; one house in that district, during five and a half months of 1854, shipped over two millions of pounds, and in the nine years previous there were produced four thousand eight hundred and twenty-four tons. The yield of copper in the state has risen to an annual average of eight thousand tons, with promise of steady increase. The opening of the St. Mary's canal and the clearing of the entrance into Portage Lake have given fresh impetus to this branch of mining industry, which is becoming one of the most cherished interests of the state. Silver has been found in connection with the copper in the proportion of from twenty-five to fifty per cent. of the precious metal. Iron of superior quality has been discovered in a bed of slate from six to twenty-five miles wide, and one hundred and fifty long, extending into Wisconsin. In the production of this mineral in 1863, Michigan was second only to Pennsyl vania, having produced two hundred and seventy-three thousand tons of ore. Bituminous coal is mined on an enlarging scale to 'meet the demand of manufactures. Salt also exists in quantities repaying the investment of capital.

The high prices lately prevailing have caused a rapid development of the salt fields around Saginaw, a basin some forty or fifty miles square, in which by boring some eight hundred feet an inexhaustible supply of brine is obtained, yielding eighty or ninety per cent. of salt.

WISCONSIN.-The mineral resources of the state are varied and valuable. The lead region of Illinois and Iowa extends over an area of 2140 square miles in Wisconsin, which compares with the other portions in the abundance and richness of the ores. In 1863 there were 848,625 pounds of lead received at Milwaukee. completion of the southern Wisconsin railroad will raise the aggregate to 2,500,000 pounds. It is mingled with copper and

zinc ores.

The

The iron region of Lake Superior presents within the limits of this state abundant deposits of great richness. Magnetic iron, plumbago, and the non-metallic earths abound. Copper deposits have also been developed, but as yet have only been worked to

a limited extent.

Beautiful marbles, susceptible of elaborate

working, exist. IOWA. The mineral resources of Iowa are abundant and rich, the lead region of Illinois and Wisconsin extending into this state, the ore being found in large quantities, but lying deeper than on the east side of the Mississippi. Dubuque is the center of the Iowa lead region. From this point and Buena Vista, in 1853, were shipped 3,256,970 pounds of this mineral. Zinc and copper are found in the same localities in close association with it. Coal is abundant and accessible.

MISSOURI.-Missouri is richly endowed with mineral wealth. The iron region around Iron mountain and Pilot Knob is unsurpassed in the world for the abundance and purity of deposits.

On the Maramec river and in some other localities are found small quantities of lead.

Copper is found extensively deposited, being most abundant near the La Motte mines. It is also found with nickel, manganese, iron, cobalt, and lead, in combinations yielding from thirty to forty per cent. All of these metals, except uickel, exist in considerable quantities; also silver, in combination with lead ore and tin. Limestone, marble and other eligible building materials are abundant, especially north of the Missouri. The geological formations of the state are principally those between the upper coal measures and the lower silurian rocks. The drift is spread over a large surface; in the north, vast beds of bituminous coal, including cannel coal, exist on both sides of the Missouri river.

ARKANSAS.-The minerals of Arkansas are chiefly iron, coal, lead, zinc, manganese, gypsum, and salt. The coal embraces deposits of the anthracite, cannel, and bituminous varieties.

Gold is said to have been found in White county. Near Hot Springs is a quarry of novaculite, or oil-stone, superior to any other on the globe, inexhaustible in quantity and of great variety of fineness. There is manganese enough in the state to supply the world's demand. In zinc Arkansas ranks next to New Jersey. It has more gypsum than all the other states, and is equally well supplied with marble and salt. The lead ore is largely associated with silver. Lead mines were worked extensively during the civil war to answer military necessities.

MINNESOTA. The mineral resources of the state are yet undeveloped. Copper has been found, but in most cases as a detritus carried away from its deposits imbedded in moving masses of boulders and drift. Yet around Lake Superior it is likely a considerable amount of this mineral will be produced.

Coal has not yet been discovered in quantities comparable to its development in the neighboring states. Lead gives promise of greater abundance. In the northeastern part large formations

of gold and silver-bearing quartz, accompanied by still further developments of iron ore, were reported by the state geologist upon actual survey in 1855.

KANSAS. The mineral deposits of Kansas are as yet imperfectly known; but sufficient has been developed incidentally to warrant the belief that the state has a liberal endowment of the useful minerals. The coal measures of the eastern portion are supposed to cover an extensive region. The upper stratum crops out in the eastern and middle counties. In Leavenworth, Osage, and Bourbon counties, in which alone the veins have been worked to any extent, the supply seems abundant and the quality superior. The Surveyor-General is of opinion from late surveys that the coal veins to the westward will be found of increasing abundance. West of this out-cropping of the coal strata is an irregular belt, from fifty to seventy-five miles wide, of permian rocks, in which are found salt springs, inexhaustible beds of gypsum, and inferior iron ore; platinum has also been discovered. Sand rock and lime rock crop out all over the state. Fine magnesian limestone of beautiful color has been quarried on the Kansas river near Fort Riley, and is now used in erecting public buildings.

NEW MEXICO.-Surveyor-General Clark, of New Mexico, in his report to the General Land Office, gives the following statement in regard to the mining interests of that territory:

Gold. Since my last annual report gold has been discovered in the mountains, about twenty miles northeasterly from the town of Taos, in this territory. At last advices it was estimated there were four hundred men engaged in gold-washing in a district five by fifteen miles in extent. I have no reliable information as to the actual production.

The New Mexico Mining Company is increasing and perfecting its machinery and increasing the working force at the old placer, twenty-eight miles southeasterly from Santa Fé, and promises largely to increase the production of gold from those mines during the next year. Dr. Michael Steck, the present superintendent, gives the result of the reduction of sixty-three tons of quartz from the mines of this company at seventeen hundred and seven dollars and sixty-four cents, or an average of twenty-seven dollars and ten cents per ton, and says that the ore is abundant, cheaply mined, and convenient to the works. Many lodes rich in gold have been discovered in that vicinity, but no other mill has been erected, and they remain undeveloped.

The developments at Pinos Altos during the year fully justify all I have heretofore reported concerning the mineral wealth of that region. It is estimated that there are now more than one thousand persons engaged in gold-washing and in working the rich veins of gold-bearing quartz in that immediate vicinity.

I am indebted for the following information concerning these mines to Brevet Major-General James H. Carleton, United States army, who lately visited them:

The Pinos Altos Mining Company has a quartz-crushing mill of fifteen stamps now in operation at the town of Pinos Altos. The quartz worked by it is taken from the Pacific lode, and yields from eighty to one hundred and fifty dollars of gold per ton. The cost of mining and delivering the ore at the mill is estimated at eight dollars and fifty cents per ton, and of reducing it and separating the gold at three dollars. The mill has the capacity of reducing twenty tons of ore in twenty-four hours. General Carleton was informed by good authority that within a radius of six miles from the town of Pinos Altos there had been discovered at the time of his visit six hundred lodes of gold and silver ore, many of them prospecting as rich as the Pacific lode above mentioned. There is a scarcity of water for washing; but in the rainy season, in many of the ravines or gulches in the vicinity, there will be water, so that miners can wash five to six dollars per diem to the hand.

Silver. Numerous veins of silver ore are reported to have been discovered during the year in the Sandia, Manzano, San Andros, Mimbres, and Organ mountains, but none have been worked sufficiently to prove their value or extent. The greater

part of the gold-bearing quartz in New Mexico yields also more or less silver; and as a rule, I believe the percentage of silver increases as the veins descend. Silver, therefore, promises ultimately to be the leading mining interest in this section of the Rocky mountains. There are no works in operation for the reduction of the silver ores.

Copper.-Copper seems to be a universal accompaniment of the precious metals in this section; traces of it are found in most of the veins of gold and silver ore. Lodes and deposits of copper ore are reported to have been discovered in the Taos, Jemez, Sandia, and Mimbres mountains. When, by the construction of railroads, cheap transportation shall be furnished to the people, copper mining will become an important branch of the industry of this territory. The silver and gold in much of the ore will more than pay for its transportation and reduction.

Coal. Veins of bituminous coal have been found in the Raton, Sandia, and Jemez mountains, near the Peurco river, west of Albuquerque, and in the vicinity of Forts Craig, Stanton, Selden, and Bayard. Anthracite coal of a superior quality is also found near the Galisteo creek, about twenty miles south from Santa Fé. I have no doubt but that this valuable mineral exists in abundance throughout the territory, and can be made available to furnish cheap fuel for the operation of railroads, and for manufacturing and domestic uses.

Lead and Iron.-Lead and iron are very common minerals throughout the territory. Much of the lead has sufficient percentage of silver to pay for its separation; but as yet there is little domestic demand for lead, and the cost of transportation to a foreign market would consume it; there is, therefore, none mined or smelted. For the same reasons the mountains of iron ore remain untouched by the manufacturer.

Salt.-Almost the entire amount of salt used in New Mexico is obtained from salt lakes on the plain, fifty to sixty miles east of the Rio Grande. The salt, crystallized by the evaporation of the water by the sun, is deposited upon the bottom of the lake, forming a crust several inches thick, and is shoveled thence directly into the wagons and dried by the sun. There are some impurities mixed with it, which give it a dark appearance, but when leached, or washed, it becomes white as snow. The supply seems inexhaustible.

Other Minerals.—In addition to those above enumerated, zinc, antimony, kaolin, and other minerals are known to exist, which, when the railroads shall reach this region, and the current of immigration turns in this direction, with its capital and industry, to develop and work the mines, will contribute largely to the general wealth.

COLORADO. The Surveyor-General of Colorado reports as follows:

Gold and Silver.-Of the gold and silver one can form no idea of the wealth of the deposits in this territory, and as soon as a method of separating the different metals in a less expensive manner is adopted, large results will follow.

The mines have not fully recovered from the effects of the late depression, owing in a great measure to reckless speculation. But I am convinced that when fully developed, the mines of Colorado will be found second to none in riches.

Coal.-Coal exists in large quantities, and has been traced and opened along the base of the mountains, and the indications are that an extensive basin exists underlying a large extent of territory eastward from the mountains. The quality is good. It makes an excellent gas and steam coal, and some of it could be used for smelting iron.

Iron.-Iron is found in abundance along the base of the mountains, and at some distance from them, and with abundance of coal found near it, will prove in time invaluable. As yet no effort has been made to any extent to work it, owing to the high price of labor.

CALIFORNIA. The great and distinguishing feature of California is its unexampled mineral wealth. The first discoveries of gold were made in 1848, when $10,000,000 were taken from