Page:History of Southeast Missouri 1912 Volume 1.djvu/243

 HISTORY OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI 183 miles above Ste. Genevieve. He died in 1821. At the time of his discovery he received a grant of four arpens. This was a very small recompense for the service he had rendered in the discovery of the mine. In 1779 Moses Austin, an American miner, agreed to erect a smelter near this mine of Breton, and on consideration of doing so he was granted a tract to contain 7,000 arpens, including one-third of the original mine. In performance of his agreement he erected here the first reverberatory furnace west of the river. This furnace, on account of its superior qualities, soon superseded all others. In 1797, when it was erected, there were twenty French furnaces in the district. In 1802 the Austin furnace was the only one in operation. In 1804 Austin made to the United States government the first report of the lead min- ing industry in Missouri. It seems certain, then, that Mine LaMotte, Mine a Renault and Mine a Breton were the great centers of the lead industry in early days, but there were other mines also in oper- ation ; many small ones were opened ; settle- ments sprung up aroimd them. Some of these mines are still in successful operation. Some of the settlements have become flourishing towns, others have entirely disappeared. The whole lead region of southeast Missouri has many traces of the activity of the early French miners. Some of the famous lead mines which were operated during this period in addition to those already described are here mentioned : ]line a Platte or Doggett mine was discov- ered in 1799, and was granted to DeLassus at one time. It was on Plattin creek in what is now St. Francois county. Mine a Gerboree, situated on the St. Francois river near De Lassus, is said to have been operated by Renault in 1745. The Hazel Run lead dis- trict was discovered about 1810; this district is in the northern part of St. Francois county. The mines now owned and operated by the St. Joe Lead company of Bonne Terre were also worked during this period. They seem to have been granted in 1800, together with 800 arpens of land, to John B. Pratte. This land was surveyed in the same year by Antoine Soulard, the surveyor general of Upper Louisiana. These lead mines, together with some others, were all in operation in the period which we are now considering. Their output was con- siderable, when we remember the conditions under which they were worked. It was all surface mining and the greater part of the labor was performed by hand. While the output was small, measured by the standards of the present, it still meant a great deal to the people of Missouri. "While the greatest mining activity was, of course, in the lead regions, there began to be iron smeltered be- fore the year 1820. Some time prior to this date Paul De Guire and his partner, Asha- branner, built a furnace on the Frederick- town road near the Shut-In, in Iron county. On the creek near this smelter they set up a forge, and being thus equipped they pro- ceeded to work the iron ore. This ore was taken from mines in the vicinity, there being considerable deposit of iron in this county, and it was treated at this smelter. Their method of reducing the ore was first to roast it ; it was then beaten by hammers into a powder, which was then heated in the forge. This forge, situated as it was on the bank of the creek, had a blower attached, which was worked by water power. When the powdered ore had been fused in the forge, the mass was then placed under a heavy hammer, also