to 1852, when a Scotch hearth furnace was erected by S. Dunklin, Esq., of Washington County, in connection with the Messrs. Moseley. About sixteen thousand pigs of lead were made at this furnace by the different parties who smelted there; the ore being obtained principally from the Moseley mine, some from Centre Creek, and small quantities from Granby and Spurgeon Prairie. John Fitzgerald & Co. had a blast furnace on Turkey Creek, and the Messrs. Harkelrode one on Centre Creek, in operation about the same time. The last named were in Jasper County, and manufactured considerable quantities of lead. Moseley's furnace is ten miles southwest from Granby.

The extensive diggings south from Granby were discovered in 1854 by William Foster, while digging a well for Madame Richardson; previous to this, however, Professor Swallow had discovered lead in the same vicinity.

Owing to the want of capital to mine and smelt, and the very poor facilities for transportation, but little systematic mining or smelting was done until 1856, when Messrs. J. B. Dale & Co. and Booth, Ryan & Co. engaged men extensively in smelting, and offered better inducements to miners. The ore then ranged from $17 50 to $20 per one thousand pounds, and lead from six and a quarter to six and a half cents per pound. No rents were required from miners, and they had the full benefit of all the mineral furnished by them. This condition of things existed until June or July, 1857, when the mines covered. by section six came into the possession of Messrs. Blow & Kennett, as the lessees of the Pacific Railroad Company, (as hereinafter specified,) since which time these mines have yielded both in quantity and quality an amount of mineral second to none in the country, in proportion to the number of mines opened or miners employed; the business having increased from twenty-two pigs of lead per day to about three hundred, which has for some time past been the daily average product.

The complete success of the mines at Granby is attributable to the very liberal course pursued by, and the discreet and judicious management of the present proprietors, Messrs. Blow & Kennett, who, by the investment of a large amount of capital in the introduction of the most approved machinery for mining and smelting, have concentrated almost the entire operations of the Southwest to their great center, on section six, infused new life and energy into all the adjacent country, and increased the population of the town of Granby from a cluster of log cabins to a town of several thousand population, and developed one of the most important mineral regions of this great mineral State.

By an act of Congress, the Pacific Railroad Company received in 1852 a grant of land, embracing every alternate section for twelve

miles wide, along the Southwest Branch, amounting to nearly 1,040,000 acres. The company were entitled to dispose of any of these lands lying within twenty miles of the completed road. After the transfer was made and the prospective title vested in the railroad company, agents were at once sent out to protect the lands. Granby proved to be located upon one section of this land. The squatters

at this and upon other portions of the best mineral lands, in view of the immense mineral wealth that only required their labor and industry to secure a sure and remunerative return, declared that the railroad company had no legal right to the land, and resisted every effort made on the part of the agents to control it. The agents demanded a rent; the squatters refused to pay it, and after considerable trouble, the railroad company abandoned the lead region until 1857, when a lease was made to Messrs. Blow & Kennett for ten years, for a rent or tax of two dollars per thousand pounds for all mineral taken from the mines.

At this time there were about 1000 miners at work, all of whom held claims jointly or severally, and worked them as they now doselling their mineral to the smelters, who had erected furnaces in the vicinity for the purpose of reducing the ore to metal. Trading and selling claims was here practiced, as is the case in all mining districts; some claims being sold at prices ranging from $50 to $1000 per acre, according to the prospect. It is estimated that at that time, (January, 1857,) 5,000,000 pounds of ore had been taken out by the squatters, smelted, and found its way to St. Louis and other markets, yielding some 3,000,000 pounds of manufactured lead. Owing to the scarcity of money, and from a want of proper system and encouragement, the mines had not been worked as vigorously as they were subsequently. Those engaged in mining at Granby at that time were not all of that hard-working, industrious class whose hands supply their families with the comforts of life, but principally held their claims for speculation, and depended upon their sales of claims rather than upon their actual mining operations. As soon as it was known that Messrs. Blow & Kennett had received a lease of the mines, rumors of every conceivable character prejudicial to the lessees were spread abroad by these speculators, informing the squatters that they would be driven from their claims and lose the rights which they regarded as belonging to them, and deprived of all profits arising from the working of their lots or claims. In the midst of these inflammatory rumors, Blow & Kennett appeared, with the evidence of their title, and called a meeting of the miners, before whom was sub

mitted their evidences of several right, with the course they had decided upon for the future regulation and government of the mines.

The proposition of Messrs. Blow & Kennett was, that the miners should continue upon their claims, and work them as heretofore, receiving a fair price for their ore, which was to be governed by the market value of the metal, less two dollars per thousand pounds, which went to the Pacific Railroad Company, that being the amount specified in the lease between the parties. For the greater security of the miners, a basis of 400 pounds of lead was offered for every 1000 pounds of ore, when the quotation price in cash did not suit them. Up to the present time, (May, 1860,) lead has never been called for, the cash price being satisfactory to them. These matters were understood as arranged, and Blow & Kennett returned to St. Louis for machinery and proceeded at once to erect their furnace, which was put in successful operation on the 18th of January, 1858, at a cost of $20,000. The furnace once in blast and the rules enforced produced dissatisfaction in the minds of some of the miners, outsiders, and speculators. Factions of disaffected miners were consequently formed, and were led on by disappointed smelters, caucassing and calling meetings both private and public in reference to the rights of Blow & Kennett, the legality of which they questioned. Speeches of the most inflammatory character were made at those meetings of the miners, and the life of Peter E. Blow, the masterspirit of the mines, was frequently jeopardized by some of the most reckless and daring miners. Suits at law were found necessary to protect the rights of the lessees, and, after a severely contested action by the claimants and defendants, during fifteen months, it was finally decided by the Supreme Court of Missouri, in March, 1859, that the title was, according to the lease from the railroad company, vested in Blow & Kennett, and that they were the sole owners of the mines during the time specified in the lease. This decision settled the legal difficulties, and the conciliatory and generous course pursued by Blow & Kennett soon brought about a mutual good feeling between the proprietors and miners; and now the mines are in a prosperous condition, the miners receiving good prices for their ore, and the smoking furnaces, under the immediate control of Peter E. Blow, Esq., are turning out millions of pounds of this valuable metal, which finds its way to the markets, from New Orleans to Boston, and lead bearing the brand of "Blow & Kennett" is receiving a world-wide reputation.