Ores of lead are extensively found in the territories; and in Ohio it is said to have been met with native, forming slips, or slender prismatic masses, in crystallized galena. This mineral is found in various places, from the Arkansas river to the North-West territory, the precise line of the Ozark and Shawnee Mountains, a tract which seems to constitute one of the most important and extensive deposits of lead hitherto known. On the Arkansas, the ore is smelted by the Osage Indians for bullets. To the northward, some valuable mines at Prairie du Chien are imperfectly worked by the proprietors of the soil. But the most important mines are those of Cape Girardeau district, commonly known as the lead mines of Missouri. The mining district is situated between two prominent ridges of sandstone which bound the valley of Grand river, or the basin of Potosi. These ridges diverge in their course northward, and are intercepted by the Merameg, which receives the waters of Grand river, and forms a boundary to the mining district in that direction. In Illinois are the richest lead mines in the world. The district which furnishes the ore, lies in the north-west part, and extends beyond the limits of the state. It comprises a tract of above two hundred miles in extent. The ore is inexhaustible. It lies in beds or horizontal strata, varying in thickness from one inch to several feet. It yields seventy-five per cent. of pure lead. For many years the Indians and hunters were accustomed to dig for the metal; they never penetrated much below the surface, but obtained great quantities of the ore, which they sold to the traders. The public attention was drawn to this quarter, and, from 1826 to 1828, the country was filled with miners, smelters, merchants, speculators, and adventurers. Vast quantities of lead were manufactured; the business was overdone, and the markets nearly destroyed. At present, the business is reviving, and in 1830, there were eight million three hundred and twenty-three thousand nine hundred and ninety-eight pounds of lead made at the mines. The whole quantity obtained, from 1821 to 1830, was forty million eighty-eight thousand eight hundred and sixty pounds. The principal mines are in the neighborhood of Galena.