Buffalo County, Wisconsin - The whole text, 1888 (part 1 of 13)

Preface

When, about a year ago, I commenced work on the book, which now liei before the reader, I expected to present it much sooner to the public. It would be perfectly useless to enumerate any of the causes of the delay, but it is not to be denied that the book itself has unquestionably gained by it. Such as it is I commit it to the judgment of the readers, and beyond such apologies as have been made at different points for special reasons, I do not feel inclined to make any further.

The arrangement of the book is by topics. To i:)roceed by towns would have compelled much useless repetition, 'and would have narrowed the horizon of investigation and history. . In some cases that arrangement would have been impossible. A perusal of the index will in a very short time furnish the clue to every matter reasonably expected to be related in the book.

Perfection is not claimed, but in justice it is to be supposed that I did the best I could under the circumstances. Not being myself an admirer of long preliminaries, it can not be my intention to inflict any such upon my readers.

To the many friends, who have contributed to the work, I have, in most cases given due acknowledgment and thanks at the particular points, in which they helped and encouraged me. If, as is still possible, any one should have been omitted, I hope he will pardon the oversight, which certainly was not intentional.

Topography

" 22, fractional, East of Mississippi River. The whole area is equal to 690.5 square miles accounting sections having fractions within, but boundaries full as whole, and sections fractional according to the area in acres put down on surveyors' maps.

Total 690.518 square miles. The county is widest on the line between Townships 23 and 22 being there 27} miles or nearly so, and it runs to a point indicated by the junction of the Mississippi and Trempealeau rivers in Section 16, Township 18, Range 10; the northern boundary is a fraction less than 24 miles long there being only 28.50 chains of the northern boundary of Section 6, Township 24, Range 13, on the east side of the Chippewa River. All the Ranges in this county are West of the fourth principal meridian and all the Townships are North of the Wisconsin base line, which is identical with the southern boundary line of the state, that between Illinois and Wisconsin, situated in North latitude 42° 30'. The divisions mentioned in the above are those established by what is called the Government Survey, on which not only the calculation of areas but also the description of all lands, and the title to all real estate is primarily based. The subjoined table for which I am indebted to General J. M. Rusk, now Governor of this state, who procured it for me from the General Lund Office in 1874, when he was a Member of Congress, shows when the land in this county was surveyed by order of the Government.

Situation In The State Of Wisconsin

Buffalo County is situated iu; the. central western part of the state, r£),ther a little south of the central line which is in Towoship 23 or a little north of the line of that Township. It is on the Mississippi River and extends along the same from the mouth of the Chippewa River to the mouth of the Trempealeau River. The Mississippi River separates it from the Counties of Winona and Wabasha in Minnesota, the Chippewa River on the western boundary from Pepin County and the Trempealeau River from Trempealeau County. ,'Jhe north line of Township 24 North is the' line between Pepin and Baffalo County from the Chippewa River to the line between Ranges 10 and 11 hence, to the line between Ranges 9 and 10 it diyid.es Buffalo fronj Bau Claire County. The latter Range line divides Bufialo from Trempealeau County from the northeast, corner oi Township 24, Range 10, which is also the northeast corner of the county south to the southeast corner of Township 21, wh^re it intersects with the Trempealeau River. From that point the Trempealeau River forms part of the bound-, ary down ,to the rnouth. In tl^e.same way does the Chippewa River form the wesitern boundary, of the county from Section 6,. Township 24, Range 13 to the mouth, of the river ia Section 4, Township 22, Range ,14.

Situation On The Globe

The 44th degree of North latitude runs through -the village of Trempealeau in the county of the same name and about 2 miles south of, but close enough to the most southern point of our county, to mark its geographical limit as to latitude. Hence there are 40 miles (approximately) to the northern boundary of the county, which, according 70 statute miles to one degree of latitude would be in about 44° 34' 17" of North latitude. As to longitude I find that longitude 92° West of Greenwich, England or 15° West of Washington, D. C, is about half a mile east of the line between Range 13 and 14 and 91° 30' West of Greenwich = 14° 30' West of Washington is about one mile east of the straight eastern boundary line of this county.

Situation In The Mississippi Valley

Buffalo County is in the upper part of the Mississippi Valley upon the left bank of the stream, immediately below the lower end of Lake Pepin, which point is almost identical with the mouth of the Chippewa River, extending down to the mouth of the Trempealeau River. All the drainage of the County goes directly or indirectly into the great river. The main tributaries from the county or its boundaries are: a. Big Bear Creek joining the main stream above Durand in Pepin County, but having the most considerable of its head waters in this county and draining especially the greatest part of Township 24, Range 12 to the north the same Township being known as Canton.

c. Little Bear Creek is formed by the confluence of the North Branch coming from the southwestern part of Township 24, Range 12 flowing south, and the South Branch coming from the western part of Township 23, Range 12 (Modena) flowing north, either of which might be considered as the source of the creek. After uniting the creek flows west receiving but one considerable affluent from the north, but from the south it receives Norway Creek, Center Creek, and Cascade Creek; it flows into Beef Slough.

Before proceeding further on this part of our work we will consider the Chippewa River as far as it forms one of the natural boundary lines of our county, and Beef Slough which is in fact the eastern branch of the river and may have been in ancient times the main branch of it.

A look upon the map annexed to this description will satisfy us, that the current of the Chippewa has in the northern part of Section 1'2, Township 24, Range 14 an apparent tendency to enter into Beef Slough and that the so-called main channel sets ofi at almost a right angle from the center line of the stream above. There is no rock or hill at the division point, and it is therefore a surprise that this abrupt turn in the river ever took place. It is not the intention of the author to speculate on the causes underlying that fact, and if in a subsequent part of the book a rather apocryphal anecdote should be-giyen, which might show that even in modern times at certain stages of the water Beef Slough at its head has been taken for the main stream, we do not want to have that picked up as an argument.

This departure from its general course is maintained by the main Chippewa for little more than half a mile, when after another rather abrupt turn, it returns to its former direction flowing about twelve miles nearly south, deviating but three miles west in that distance. On its right bank it is closely hemmed in by precipitous bluffs, and if now and then a valley cuts in to- westward from the river, it is still considerably above the stream, even where it adjoins it. The only subsidiary entering the river from the right bank during this long run is Plum Creek, which comes from Pierce Courity. On the left bank is the delta between the River and Beef Slough known by the, common name of the Chippewa Bottoms. The only considerable offset from the river on that side is Little Beef Slough, running southeast into main Beef Slough through sections 23, 24, 25 and 26 of Township 24, Range 14.

Beef Slough is a branch of the Chippewa River setting off from the main channel at the turn in section 12 above mentioned. I,t then pursues, though with considerable meanderings and numerous sharp turns, a general southern course, never getting out of the eastern range of sections until down to the Township line between Townships 23 and 22, Range 14 when it enters upon Township 22 at the southeast corner of Section 2 still continuing south to the corner of Sections 1, 2, 11 aiid 12 when Perrin or Parrain Slough sets off to the west, while Beef Slough begins to take a general southeastern direction, which it keeps, with some deviations and many turns, until its confluence with Beef River a short distance above the entrance of the latter into the Mississippi. It would be difficult to decide from a study of the maps, which of the many sloughs laid down in Township 22, Ranges 14 and 18 west, was at the time of the survey (see table) considered the main slough, if. indeed, the matter received any particular consideration. At present the one Used for driving logs from Plat Bar to the rafting works is indisputably entitled to the preference. A number of points or localities along the Slough have received ternporary names, invented and applied by the men working along the Slough, for their own convenience and mutual information,' and communicated to the people living in the neighborhood. In the discussion of the history of the Beef Slough Company, and the development of the rafting business and its connections or relations to other industries these names may become significant and be employed. Beef Slough unites with Beef or Buffalo River in Section 26, Township 22, North of Range 13 West, and their united waters join the Mississippi River in Section 34 of the same Township near the quarter section corner between Sections 34 and 35. This part of the Slough or River is navigable for good sized stern v?heel steamboats which are employed as raft tugs or pushers. In Section 21 there is a so-called cut-off by which such boats may pass between the Slough and the Mississippi in the stages of high or even medium: wa,terj which has been used during the season of navigation by the steamer Lion from Wabasha, (a ferry boat carrying the mail and furnishing communication .between Wabasha, Beef Slough and Alma.)

While it may be of no consequence; ir^ regard, . to other rivers in or about this county, it is necessary for an understanding of some historical events to ti-ace this river from its bead waters; or sources to, its mouth. Older maps use the name of Buffalo Eiver, newer or more special ones call it Beef River, which latter appellation is the one in common use among the inhabitants of .this and the adjoining counties of Trempealeau and Jackson. The sourxies or headquarters of this riyer are in Township 24 North of Range 5 West of the fourth principal meridian, where it appears as a south and a north fork. The source of the south fork is about one quarter of a mile east of 91° West longitude, that of the north fork some two or three miles farther east. Which is considered the main channel or branch I do not know, but both join in Section 10, Township 24, Range 7, West at or near the present village of Osseo. From there the river flows in a general western d,irection, and enters this county in Section 12, Township 24, Range 10, from which point it continues its general western course down to the present village of Mondovi, which is located at the corner of Sec^ tioris 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Township 24, Range 11. The river flows south of, but close by the plateau on which the village is situated, but from, that point it starts on its new course southwest to its junction with Beef Slough and finally the Mississippi. Ou its right bank it is closely followed by a range of hills and little plateaus, on the left bank the valley is usually wider, the. hills more distant and more accessible. Grassy lowlands, sometimes swamps, are along it, but more of them on the left than on the right bank. This river is not navigable, though for a venture loaded flatboats may have descended it from Mondovi at a favorable stage of water. There are no meander points put down on the government survey maps, until the river enters Township 22, Range 13 about four miles above its mouth, from which pqint it seems to have been considered navigable by the surveyors. Of its affluents I will but mention those which enter it in this county.

a. Silver Creek, the only affluent from the north in Range 10 comes from the southern half of Township 25 in the same range, flows nearly south about three miles.

b. Hoyt's Creek, into which Bond's Creek flows from the east near the line between this and Eau Claire County, flows southwest uniting with Hunter's Creek, which flows about two miles west of it directly south to the place now occupied by the millpond, where in by-gone times it must have formed a natural pond and waterfall. It is about six miles long and flows through Mondovi.

c. Farrington's Creek. It originates in the southeastern part of Township 24, Range 12, and flowing north is joined by Dutch Creek, coming from the opposite direction, and after receiving some other affluents from the other side, flows in a southeastern direction into the river, through a depression between the plateau of Mondovi and adjoining hills.

d. Oilman's Creek much smaller, without any affluent, comes out of the hills about eight miles south of the former. Its general course is south and its length about three miles with a wide valley.

e. Brown's Creek takes its start at the quarter section corner in the town line of Section 3, Township 23, Range 12, flows through that section south, but afterwards southeast, it has a cascade of 40 feet made use of for a mill. It has a length of about six miles and flows in its upper part through tamarack and other swamps. The valley is wide and undulating, and there are some tributaries.

/. Jensen's Creek in the lower part of Township 23, Range 12, flows about one mile south and then about two miles east entering the river in Section 35.

g. Pine Creek rises in the southwest part of the same town as the former and flows for the most part through a narrow valley the slopes of which are, with few exceptions, steep. It took its name from a cluster of pines on a high and almost perpendicular rock at the place where once it broke through the hillb and now enters upon the river bottoms.

h. Trout Creek comes from some springs and a small swamp near the quarter section corner in the northern line of Section '2 Township 22, Range 13 and flows in a general southeastern direct tion for a distance of about five miles. The slopes of the valley are steep and close to the creek in the upper part of its course, but in the middle and lower course the hills recede and the creek runs in a narrow marshy bottom, while between that and the hills terraces intervene, which slope gradually up towards the steeper part. The creek received its name from the abundance of trout it contained during the earlier times of the settlement. B. Prom the left bank.

a. Rossman's Creek rises in Tremp.ealeau County in Township 24, Range 9 and flows northwest for about five miles. The valley of this and the creeks next following are comparatively wide and undulating, the higher hills being at the heads of the streams.

6. Fifteen Creek so called because it flows through Section Fifteen, Township 24, Range 10, about two and one half miles long, course northwest.

d. Pettingil's Creek has its headwaters among the swamps and springs in the southwestern part of the township, where the hills are steep and the valleys narrow. Its course is more directly north, than that of the foregoing, and its length about four miles.

e. Dillon's Creek is but two miles long and runs through an undulating valley north. From this we corne to no tributary for almost six miles, but this tributary we find entering into the river in Section 16, Township 23, Range 11, is the most considerable of all tributaries of Beef River in this county. Its name is Elk Creek. The main branch of this creek takes its rise in Section 2 of Township 22, Range 10, flows north for about three miles thence west northwest until it is joined by the other large branch, which is usually called Bennett Valley Creek its strongest affluent.

Bennett Valley Creek rises in Sect. 1, T. 23, R. 10, flows west for about four miles, when it turns southwest and after a course of about two miles joins Elk Creek in Sect. 18 of said township. The main branch has one affluent of an unknown name from the east, another called Eads' Creek from the same direction, one Mower's Creek from the north, and finally Three Mile Creek from the south, each of which is equal to any of the tributaries named for Beef River under a, h, c, d and e in this division.

The stream from its junction with its north fork (Bennett Valley Creek) continues west, receiving Hadley's Creek, on the right Erskine and Bailey's Creek on the left side. The valleys of the main branch and of most of the different affluents are comparatively wide, bordered on the north, east and south by high hills or bluffs, from which spurs are running in different directions, and by those the surface of the country is somewhat cut up and diversified.

g. Hutchison Creek is divided from Elk Creek by a high ridge, one of the spurs last mentioned, which extends in a nearly western direction to within half a mile of the main river. This Creek rises in Sect. 35, Township 23, Range 11 and receives its only affluent at the southwest corner of said section, from which point it flows nearly west through a narrow strip of marshy meadow, which is bordered on the right wde by the foot of the bluffs, and on the left by a strip of prairie land nearly level up to the hilis.

i. Wenger's Creek coming from Sect. 28, Township 22, Range 12 is also not over two miles long and flows nearly northwest with a rolling valley.

j. Mill Creek has two branches, one from the east and one from the north, whose valleys are narrow and short. They unite above the millpond and after coming out of it the creek flows out into the level bottoms of the river.

In the above descriptions, as well as in those which may follow, it will- be noticed that some creeks are named after persons, usually after the first, or else some prominent one of the earliest settlers. Whether or not these names will be continued in use, we know not, but they designate to the present generation the objects named and also some local points of history. Where other names are given their origin if known, is mentioned. The maps, even those of the original government survey, are not always reliable, but as no person can know the exact location of every spot, they are, of course, the only thing to rely on for the purpose of description and location.

people living alonggide of it call it always " the creek," I shall do the same, although there may be other streams of no greater magnitude, which are locally designated as rivers. I shall also consider Little Waumandee Greek as an affluent or tributary. The territory drained by this stream and its tributaries or affluents is entirely, withm our county, and although the main valley is wide, yet the hills surrounding the whole basin are high and steep. The main creek rises in Sect, 4, Township 22, Range 10, from which place it flows south about two miles, thence it turns and flows southwest until joined by the Little Waumandee Creek from which place it assumes a general southern course to its junction with Mississippi, in Sect. 8, Township 19, Range 11. Its tributaries are: c. Little Waumandee Creek rising in a spring in Sect. 21, Township 22, Range 11. Its upper course is sometimes dried up and for nearly a mile uncertain. At first it flows for about two miles southwest, and then turning into a southern course, which it continues until near its mouth, where for about half a mile it flows nearly east, turning south again for a short distance. It has a number of very small affluents, of which Schmidt's Creek from, the West is the most considerable joining it in Sect. 36, Township 21, Range 12, and Mattausch Creek from Sect. 20, Township 22, Range 11. Its next and moot important affluent is Jahn's Creek, which comes from Sect. 22, Township 22, Range 11, entering into , the larger creek, in Sect. 1, Township 21, Range 12, so near the line between Ranges 11 and 12 that it is difficult to decide about the matter. About one and a quarter miles farther down it receives its last affluent, Wilk's Creek from the west near the quarter section comes in the east side of Sect. 12. It receives no further affluent but joins the larger stream in Sect. 29, Township 21, Range 11.

d. Keith's Creek comes from Section 24, Township 21, Range 12, is about 2 miles long and joins in Sect. 31 in the range ea;st of the former. ' ' a. The first and quite a considerable one is Danuser's Creek, which has its rise in a number of springs that unite in Sect. 28, Township 22, Range 10. It flows nearly west for about five miles and enters in Sect. 36, Township 22, Range 1 1 . Danuser's Creek has a number of little affluents and, correspondingly the valley has sidevalleys, through some of which roads are "leading toward Arcadia and Trempealeau Valley in general.

b. Irish Creek, received its name from the circumstance of people of that nationality settling there in considerable numbers early in the history of the county. The creek comes from Section 21, Township 21, Range 10, and flows in a general western direction, entering the Waumandee Creek in Sect. 15, Township 21, Range 11. This creek has one considerable branch which comes from a more northern direction and joins it in the lower course.

c. Schoepp's Creek comes from Sect. 26, Township 21, Range 11, and flows in a southwestern direction in a narrow valley of about four miles in length.

e. Eagle Creek. The western branch of this creek comes from Sect. 31, Township 21, Range 10 and flows southwest, and afterwards south to Sect. 15, Township 20, Range 11, where it receives the eastern branch, which rises in Sect. 6, Township 20, Range 10. Prom their junction the creek flows nearly south to Sect. 33 of the same township and range, from which it flows nearly west to Waumandee Creek, joining it" in the upper part of what is now designated as the mill pond. The further course of Wailmandee Creek is short and terminates as before related.

The basin of the Trempealeau River is mostly outside of this county. There are however a few small streams coming from the eastern part of the town of Montana which join larger streams flowing to the river. From about the southeast corner of Town- ship 21, Range 10, this river forms the boundary line between our county and that of Trempealeau to its tjonfluence with the Mississippi in Sect. 15, Township 18, Range 10, almost south of the point where it enters upon the boundary and about 15 miles from it in a straight hne. It is, of course, very much more by the meanders of the river. With the exception of the first one, the affluents from this county are small and, in general short, though there is a bottom of meadows on our side, between them and the liver; the hills are mostly high and steep. All the tributaries to Trempealeau River from this county are from right bank and are: a. Muir's Creek. A number of small streams uniting in Sect. 14, Township 21, Range 10 form this creek. From the confluence of said streams the creek flows nearly south, without receiving any considerable addition and falls into the river in the northeast quarter of Sect. 2, Township 20, Range 10.

h. Cowie's Creek. This creek is formed by two small streams in Sect. 35, Township 21, Range 10, flowing from there southeast about \\ miles into the river.

e. Bohri's Creek, according to the map an affluent of the former, but only in its lowest course, is probably somewhat larger and combines from a number of smaller streams, which unite in Sect. 5, Township 19, Range 10.

/. Piper's Creek, is the last tributary to this river from our county and flows from Sect. 20, Township 19, Range 10, about 3 miles southeast, between very steep hills. There are a small number of short streams which flow to the Mississippi or into some side slough directly. Of these we might name Stein's Creek in , the southwestern part of Township 21, Range 12 and Raetz's Creek ; about a mile below the actual village of Fountain City, but within j that corporation. The enumeration of all those tributaries and affluents may seem superfluous to some of the actual residents of; this county, but it will remind them of some things, which they ' may have had before their eyes without taking interest enough. in them to form any accurate conception of them, as I know from experience with a great many. To those not residing here, the description of the water courses will give the only foundation for a mental picture of the surface of our county, since between these lines of drainage the elevations are situated. It is, of course, to be regretted, that the outlines and slopes of the hills are not represented in the map, but so far nobody has undertaken the task of this delineation. Persons capable of doing this work are scarce anywhere, but much more so in a new country, where even those who could do this, are compelled to make their living by other occupations. From the horizontal configuration of the country we pass naturally to the

Peependicular Configuration

By this we mean the differences in level of different points and situations. As intimated in the description of the watercourses, we find a great number of valleys, some of which are wide and rather undulating in their surfaces while some of their side valleys are narrow, deserving very often in their remote parts the name of ravines rather than of valleys. This indicates that there are hills with steep slopes between the valleys. We find the surface of the county very rough or interrupted, but we have, nevertheless no mountains. No elevation in the county reaches beyond a height of 500 feet above the level of the adjacent plain or of the surface of the Mississippi river. But this ascent falls in most cases within the distance of one fourth of a mile or less, measured perpendicular to the trend of the slope. Considering the average elevation 450 feet, it would require a uniform rise of 4 inches in every foot for 1,350 or 30 feet more than a quarter of a mile == 33i per cent, or so many feet rise for every 100 feet horizontal distance.

The slopes of our hills are no more uniform than those of others, and so we find many places where it is difficult to climb them. On the bank of the Mississippi river especially, and along the alluvial deltas called bottoms, the hills present a very bold and in many places perpendicular or otherwise inaccessible front, probably suggesting for them the name of Blufls, which, according to Webster's definition, means: A high bank presenting a steep front; a high bank almost perpendicular projecting into the sea; a description which will fit exactly if we substitute the word .

"plain" for the word "sea." Our valleys are the result of erosion. Whether this erosion is entirely due to the continual action of heat and cold, of rain and snow, is not very easily determined, and I shall in the article on the geology of our region take occasion to express and justify my own opinion on this matter. This erosion has been going on for ages and still continues. The introduction of agriculture has facilitated this process of erosion by depriving the slopes of timber and by loosening the ground for the reception of the seed. Whether or not the denudation of the slopes has been carried on recklessly and too far, is another consideration, but our observation confirms the statement above made. There are few fields and pastures on hillsides, that are not torn by fissures made by accumulating surface water, sometimes in a few hours. One of the results of this erosion are those deltas or bottoms, some of which lie between the bluff and the Mississippi and extend irregularly along Beef Slough between it and the Chippewa and Mississippi down to Alma, where the river, for the first time within the county comes close to the foot of the bluff, flowing parallel to it about li miles, when it turns off at an angle of about 60° to the southwest. Below the turn these bottoms begin again and continue without much interruption down to Fountain City, where the river again approaches the foot of the bluff for a distance of IJ miles. It does not deflect so much, nor for so great a distance as in the former case, as it returns to the bluff about 4 miles below Fountain City, for the last time in this county. The greatest width of the Chippewa and Beef Slough bottoms is at or near the line between Townships 22 and 23 where the distance is about 5 miles, measured from the foot of the bluff. The bottoms between Alma and Fountain City are widest in Township 20, Range 12, where they may average 3 miles. From Fountain City to the mouth of the Trempealeau river the bottoms seldom exceed a mile in width. The confluence of the Trempealeau gave occasion for a large delta or bottom to form along and between the hills on the north ^d those on the south side and the Mississippi, which may be considered as belonging to either the one or the other of the two rivers.

are submerged at high water. In times long past there were large eddies in their places and in these eddies were deposited the fine materials which had remained afloat in the turbulent waters, and which could not have come very far, as they would in case of being coarse have been deposited before they reached these spots. In this way the prairies between bluffs and bottoms were first formed when the waters rose much higher and staid longer than in historic times. It is very seldom that the water now cuts off communications between different parts of the prairies, but I remember that only by erecting dams considerable parts of Sects. 16, 15 and 22, Township 20, Range 12 were saved from inundation, at high water both in the spring and in the fall at different times. After the prairies the islands were formed. Islands is the name given to these bottoms or their parts for the reason, that some of these parts are always, others at ordinary, and another set only at high water, surrounded by the sloughs, which in some oases, are wide and in some even navigable at a season of abundant water, while in most cases they are nothing but shallow, and often dry channels. At very high water but little land remains visible, and it is only indicated by trees, where islands used to be. The legal status of these islands, deltas, or bottoms is swamp lands or overflowed lands. These and the immediate banks of Beef and Trempealeau rivers are the only level Jands in the county.

If it should be our intention to trace the principal ranges of hills and to subdivide them according to their height, massiness, or extent, it must be confessed that this would be an intricate, and very perplexing enterprise. One of the reasons for this is that the surface on the top of the hills, though not exactly level, presents so many similarities, or repetitions in its features, that distinction becomes difficult. We can nevertheless follow the principal groups. The lower group of bluffs extends from the confluence of Waumandee and Eagle Creeks down along the Mississippi and its sloughs to the Trempealeau bottoms a distance of about ten miles, then between the streams flowing to the Trempealeau and those flowing into Waumandee Creek; branching off into spurs between the different smaller streams, it takes a decided turn towards the west in the northern part of Township 22 north of Range 10 West swinging round the source of Big Waumandee-

Creek and separating the waters flowing to Beef River from those flowing to the creek. The line between Townships 22 and 23 runs mostly on this ridge of bluffs, until it comes down between Sections 4 and 5 in Range 11. The bluffs separating Little Waumandee from Beef River Valley take a general southwestern trend and finally reach the Mississippi River near Alma, from which they continue southeast towards Fountain City, the high chain only once interrupted at the opening of the Waumandee Valley. This valley is an irregular basin with a rim of about three or four hundred feet. There are but very few places affording a comparatively easy ingress or egress. The divisions between the tributary valleys are equally marked and the only interruption is at the mouth. Prom the northeast turn of this rim the bluffs set off to the north in the eastern part of Range 10 dividing in this extension the valley of the Trempealeau from that of the Beef River and in a west«?ard extension through the northern tier of sections of the Township 22, Ranges 10 and 11 into 12. This might be called the southern or perhaps more properly eastern, bluff system for its trend as a whole is towards the North, and it is on this body of bluffs that in earlier times a road was laid out from Fountain City to Eau Claire, following the main chain of the bluffs until the northeastern turn of the Waumandee rim was. reached when it soon descended into a ravine, and thence into the valley of Elk Creek.

A northwestern, or northern and western group of bluffs might in a similar way be recognized, the east side of which lies more or less closely along the west bank of the Beef River and is only occasionally indented by narrow erosion valleys. In some . places the foundation rock crops out perpendicularly, but in most others this rock is. covered by the overlying drift. The north side of this group extends from the turn of the Beef River from its western to its southern course near Mondovi almost due west to the Chippewa River. The west side lies some times closely, some times more distant along Beef Slough and has a trend to the north with a swing to northeast near the Chippewa, by which swing it comes to a junction with the north side the whole mass being r oughly triangular. The only baisins of local importance that might be said to be 'enclosed within this group are that of Brown's Creek and that of Little Bear Creek, the heads of which are only separated by a steep and high spur. This seems to be sufficient for a general idea of the elevations cpvering the surface of our county and running as watersheds between our streams.

In close connection with topography, as being dependent upon latitude on one side, and the situation on a continent and the presence or absence of mountains on the other hand, we must consider the

Climate

In regard to latitude we are so nearly situated in the middle between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle, that our climate should most nearly answer to the general description of the temperate zone, exhibiting no extremes either of heat or cold. But in fact it is remarkable for just these extremes, rather than for its moderation. Situated between the 44th and 45th degree of North latitude, the same as the southern part of France and the northern of Italy, we experience the cold of the countries bordering on the Baltic Sea and a heat exceeding that of Italy. Our lakes and rivers are annually frozen for several months, and our hot season is but seldom less than three months in duration. Between 40 and 50 degrees below zero are not very often reached in winter time, but they do occur; so 100 degrees above zero in the shade in summer time. Our climate is as much remarkable for sudden changes, as for extremes of degree. A rain in summer is usually accompanied by a perceptible reduction of temperature, and our winters seldom pass without several thaws, often occuring in the months which we must consider the coldest ones. The severity of our winters is so much more surprising, as we are not so far above the level of the sea as to find in our elevation a cause for this experience. According to Lapham the mouth of the Black River is only 683, Lake Pepin 714 feet above sea level, an insignificant elevation, as far as the difference of climate is concerned. We must, therefore, look to other causes which influence our climate. We find them in the total absence of large bodies of water in our immediate neighborhood, and of lateral mountain chains farther north. If there was a vast chain of mountains extending east and west, or nearly so, where the so-called plateau or height of land lies, on the divide or watershed between the system of Arctic rivers ^nd that of the Mississippi, we would probably enjoy a climate similar to that of the valley of the river Po in northern Italy at the southern foot of the Alps. There would be some difference, inasmuch as our climate would even then be a continental one, unafifected by seas or oceans. Our climate is actually a continental one in all its faults and merits. Aniong the merits of it we may certainly mention the salubrity, which it possesses in spite of its sudden changes and occasional extremes of heat and cold. Chmatic diseases, that is such as prevail regularly at certain seasons of the year, are almost unknown here. Those which are incident to sudden changes are frequent, but not very often serious. One of the great disadvantages directly traceable to the peculiarities of our climate is the impossibity of raising fruits, with the exception of the smaller ones. I am only stating this as a fact. Of trees bearing the larger and finer fruits of a more genial climate, such as apples, plums, peaches and pears, only apple trees are a comparative success, and even those very seldom attain a long life, or a desirable size. Pear trees have for a short time been known to bear fruit, but most kinds of them are winter-killed during the first season after planting. Grapes of wild kinds are spmetimes abundant, but the cultivated species are in danger of frost late in spring or early in the fall. These frosts are very capricious in making their appearance, and although it is often jocularly remarked, that it will not be quite as cold on the Fourth of July as in winter, I have nevertheless seen the leaves on the oaks and other trees, and the corn and other tender plants bitten by frost on that very same day.

It is to be regretted that there are no published records of the temperature as observed at stated times within this county, and that we can only speak of it in general terms. We* are in about the same predicament in regard to the other meteorological conditions, the prevailing winds, the amount of precipitation, the frequency of electrical disturbances, the rise and fall of the barometer, and similar items. Our prevailing winds are westerly; easterly winds are rare in summer, but northeast winds less so in winter, at which season they are almost always accompanied by heavy snowfall. Northwest winds always reduce the temperature, southwest winds are apt to raise it, but in winter there are some exceptions, at least if we judge by our feeling alone. Thunder-storms are in some summers more frequent than in .others, but they are usually not of yery long duration. Now and then they are vehement, both in the discharge of electricity, and the accompanying rain. Precipitation, consisting of rain, dew and snow, according to season, is quite variable, but usually not excessive. Some of our summers are dry, very few are actually wet, and rain continues but seldom bepond the time of two days. Dews are often heavy and in their season regular, their intermittance may often be relied on as a sign for rain. Of our seasons spring is usually rather wet, with a short dry spell, while fall is almost uniformly dry, though exceptions to that are not excluded, of which the fall of 1881 was a most notable one in this d'ecade. The floods in the Mississippi river do not depend on the rains in our own locality, but on those to the northwest and northeast of us; but these rains have a natural connection with our own, and we may therefore say that the floods or rises have. The spring rise or flood begins soon after the breaking up of the ice and continues until May. It is probably the result of the melting of the winter's snow, accelerated by occasional showers. The second regular rise is called the June rise, though it sometimes begins earlier than in that month, and occasionally continues beyond it. At present it is often a mere dejusion. Fall rises are of rare occurence, but I know that they may occur in consecutive years. This happened, for instance, in 1869 and 1870, but is certainly exceptional. The phenomenon called a cyclone has visited our county but very little, although some damage has been done by it. The earliest I remember to have seen traces of must have occurred about 1866 or 1867, and ran across the Elk Creek Valley in the town of Dover in a northern direction. Its path was about oneeighth of a mile wide and marked by the trees twisted almost out of the ground or denuded of branches and leaves. The last one swept over the northern part of the county, unroofing houses and barns, lifting buildings from their foundations and tearing down fences and other feeble constructions. It did the compaiatively greatest damage in the northern Spring Creek Valley, containing Sections 7, 8 and 9 of Township 24, Range 13, where it struck the new school house of district No. 2 of the Town of Maxville and demolished it entirely. The old log school house close by shared the same fate, although it was a low and heavy building.

Topography 21

county. These variations depend entirely on local conditions. They are more perceptible in summer than at any other season, although some of them are observed at all seasons. In regard to temperature the places along the Mississippi enjoy some advantages over places farther from the river. There is more circulation of air and a greater uniformity of temperature. This may be ascribed to the width and uniform trend of the valley, and also to the amount of evaporation constantly going on upon the whole surface of the river. Frosts late in spring and early in the fall prove very often severe and destructive in the narrow valleys among the bluffs and upon the lands bordering on Beef River, while little or no damage is done along the Mississippi. The same impunity being observed, though in a less degree, upon, the cleared lands on the bluffs, it can only be ascribed to the stronger motion of the air, and the advantage of the river localities over those on the bluffs must be due to the rising vapors which communicate some of their latent heat to the objects with which they come in contact. The northern, especially the northeastern part of the county being open and perhaps from one to two hundred feet above points on the Mississippi, has, on the whole, a temperature similar to that observed on the bluffs. But in the absence of figures based upon actual and correct observations we must be content to state that the variations of temperature in different parts of the county are, though not imperceptible, yet not very important. As the other changes are dependent on temperature, at least to a considerable degree, we may dismiss them with the same remark.

Geology

There are a few difficulties confronting me in the geological description of this county, which I would rather candidly state in the very beginning, than leave to the reader to surmise in the end.

1. I am not a very deep geologist, for although I have read considerably on the subject, and have occasionally tried to apply the information thus acquired, I never had time to make this a special study. Hence some of the petrifacts or fossils which I have come in possession of, or found in other collections, have tended to shake some of the theories, that I had formed and so I find myself in a state of doubt, when I am required to be positive.

2. There being no mines, and up to time but few artesian wells, nor competent scientific observations on the boring of the latter, I submit, that the chances for reliable observations are not very extensive, and but little of our supposed knowledge is acquired by actual investigation.

3. While it might be comparatively easy to follow the example of others, and to make a bold display of scientific names, and leave it to the reader to get through it as well as he might, I consider this course rather unfair, as it seems to discourage most persons from further investigations in this matter. But I confess that it is not so very easy to write plain and popular, probably because people of plain common sense have left such matters too much to those who were in the habit of using scientific terms, because these terms were to themselves perfectly clear and comprehensible, which they are not to other folks.

Geological Formation

/. The petrifacts or fossils found along the slopes of the hills in certain places are imbedded in a crust looking spongy, but being very hard and coarse.

The limestone is usually hard and compact, the sandstone very often soft or friable. Chemically the limestone is not pure, but contains more or less magnesia.

In consideration of the above mentioned facts, which were also observed in adjacent counties on either side of the Mississippi, it is safe to consign our hills to the Lower or oldest Silurian System.. The foundation sandstone is usually called the Potsdam Sandstone; the limestone adjoining it is known as the Lower Magnesian Limestone.

As the rocks occur in horizontal layers at corresponding levels, it is evident that neither during their original formation, nor since, there has been any serious or preceptible disturbance. There seems to be no disruption in the stratification, and the deposition of matter must have taken place under water which was deep and therefore but superficially disturbed. As the material of the Potsdam sandstone is almost entirely quartz in rounded grains the conclusion seems inevitable, that at some place quartz or quartzite existed and was subject to disintegration.

It is equally evident that the particles after disintegration must have been subject to an unlimited amount of friction or rolling, as the grains of the Potsdam sandstone are small and worn. We also know of no natural force which could have brought them to their present location except that of gravitation. It is suggested that at the time of this disintegration and deposition of particles, the temperature of the earth and atmosphere was considerably higher than at present, but whether it was fluctuating according to the seasons, is uncertain. The higher temperature, and consequent evaporation and precipitation, much more rapid and copious than at present, would aflford some explanation of the phenomena connected with the formation of sandstone, except the presence of animal remains in it. If these remains belonged to living organisms, it might be asked, whether these or any organisms of their kind could exist in a temperature much higher than the present, one that would work disintegration of crystalline rocks. The next question would be of the cause of the disappearance of the water that covered the deposits. Before this disappearance, the precipitation of the limestone as a mass upon the foundation of sandstone must have taken place. Limestone is not merely a mechanical aggregation like sandstone, but a chemical combination. We cannot refute the supposition that the lime must have been held in solution in the superincumbent waters for a long time. There must have been a time when the water did no longer contain this solution or when it was suddenly drawn off. But it would be reasonable enough to suppose that the deposition ceased before the draining _took place, since there is still a crust of earth above the limestone, for which there seems no cause more natural than a similar deposition out of the water. As an explanation of the matter it is supposed, and very probable, that after the formation had taken place, the whole was by slow degrees elevated to its present absolute level, that the water following the inevitable law of gravitation, flowed off to a lower place, and that thenceforth erosion and abrasion began to work out the inequalities of the surface. There are many indications in this neighborhood and in other places not far away, that at some time the whole of the country was covered with a deep crust of ice, or, as we say, with glaciers. It has been found to be the nature of a glacier to move from the higher to a lower place, very much as a mass of molten metal would run down an inclined plain. The higher levels being colder, the snow and other precipitations congeal and accumulate there until they press upon those beneath or on lower levels, and push them slowly down the incline, and, unless the ice be melted at the lowest point, it may be pushed up an opposing declivity. The force of this moving weight was irresistible, and even the hard rocks had to succumb. It is said that two such operations happened and were instrumental in shaping the surface of the country. We find it remarkable that there are no actual traces of the second one of these ice-floods, as we might call them, in the opposite hills along the Mississippi in our immediate neighborhood. But in the eastern and northern part of the county we find traces of its agency in the rounded form of ridges and even of higher hills, in the flattening of the surface and the absence of high continuous bluff's, while we meet more frequently with drift-hills, instead of solid bluff spurs. A glacier in its movements among hills and mountains would shove along masses of fractured rock and of earth, while it very often carried on its surface boulders, detached pieces of outcropping rock formations, which at the disappearance of the ice were left scattered about. In the foregoing I have endeavored to present a few of the ideas prevalent among professional men, by whom I mean such as have made geology their particular study. For myself and most other people, who had no' particular opportunities in such matters, the conclusion that the repetition of certain forms or shapes of hills or mountains may be caused by the similarity, both of elements and_ arrangement, of their constituent parts, is almost inevitable. This repetiton of forms is strikingly prevalent among our bluff's, and, as far as actual explorations go, they confirm this conclusion. It must, however, be admitted that they are not by any means so thorough, as to remove all possible doubts. In the following extracts, copied verbatim from Vol. IV of "Geology of Wisconsin," (being actually the report on the Geological Surveys of the State of Wisconsin,) I present to the readers the opinions of others, whose claim of superiority over myself in such matters I do not care to dispute, although I propose to reserve my own private opinion. In the course of these reports I shall have occasion to revert to the metal which at present causes the chief excitement all over the Northwest, and of which a spell has come over Buffalo County also.

Range Ten West

Town 19, Buffalo. This township is very hilly and rough; the ridges are from 300 to 400 feet above the Mississippi, and are well timbered with large white oaks, and much smaller timber of second growth. The farms are confined to the valleys and the crest of the ridges. About two-thirds of the town is covered with Potsdam sandstone, and the remainder with Lower Magnesian limestone, which has sometimes a thickness of 200 feet.

Town 20, Cross, (in part). The interior of the township is occupied by the valley of the Trempealeau river which is from one to two miles wide, being about one-half meadow land and onehalf large elm timber. The remainder of the to\ynship is very hilly and cut up with deep ravines. The town is well watered by numerous small streams and the soil is rather sandy. The formation is chiefly Potsdam.

Town 21, Glencoe. This township is very hilly, the central part being occupied by a ridge dividing Muir Creek from the Waumandee River. The ridge is about 580 feet above t he Mississippi and is capped by about 100 feet of Lower Magnesian limestone. Muir Creek occupies the eastern part of the township; it has a wide and well-cultivated valley, with rich, black soil, in some places rather swampy. The formations are Potsdam and Lower Magnesian in nearly equal proportions.

Range Eleven West

Township 19. This is a fractional township through which the Mississippi runs from Section 6 to 36, bordered with high and precipitous cliffs. Nearly all of the town consists of high rolling ridge land lying from 500 to 600 feet above the river. It is well timbered with large white oak and small timber. In the northeast quarter of Section 9, the geological section from the ridge to the bed of the river is as follows:

Town 20, Oross, (in part.) This town is well watered by Eagle Creek and its branches in the central part, and by the Waumandee River in the western part. The other parts of the town are very hilly, and consist of dividing ridges lying about 550 feet above the streams. The soil on the ridges is clay, which in some j)laces is suited to the manufacture of brick. One brick yard was seen in the southeast quarter of Section 32. The valley of the Waumandee is from a mile to a mile and a half wide, and well settled; the soil is largely of quaternary origin, and is very fertile. The formations are Portsdam one-third Lower Magnesian two- thirds.

Town 21, Waumandee, (in part.) The valleys of the Waumandee and its tributaries occupy a large part of this town and afford much good agricultural land. The hills are not so high or so steep as in the country further south. The ridges are well timbered. Formations, Potsdani two-thirds, Lower Magnesian onethird.

Range Twelve West

Toion 20, Milton, (in part.) This is a fractional town lying along the Mississippi, which runs, from Section 6 to 34. There is a strip of flat sandy land about two miles wide lying between the river and the inclosing, which is cultivated next to the bluffs; the soil there containing more clay. About one-fourth of the township has the Lower Magnesian for the surface rock, and the remainder is Potsdam.

Town 21, Belvidere, (in part.) This town consists chiefly of high ridge land, much intersected with ravines. The divide between Beef River and the Waumandee passes through the town and has a pretty uniform elevation of about 600 feet above the Mississippi. The ridges are wide and well settled, with clay soil and white oak timber. The Lower Magnesian is the principal formation.

Town 22, Alma (in part.) The southern half of the town is similar to Town 21. Beef River flows through the town from Section 2 to 19. Its valley is about a mile and a half wide, rather swampy and chiefly devoted to hay meadow. The farms are on the terraces which form the foot of the bluffs on either side of the river. The town is well watered by numerous small streams. The foro^^tions are Potsdam and Magnesian in nearly equal parts.

Town 23, Modena. The greater part of the town is valley land, with high ridges in the western and northern part. It is not as thickly settled as the country farther south, and the soil is much more sandy. The height of the dividing ridges in this town is about 530 feet above the Mississippi, and they are well-timbered with white oak. The formations are Potsdam, covering two-thirds, of the town, and Lower Magnesian the rest.

Town 24, Canton. There is a high narrow dividing ridge of Lower Magnesian in the southern part of the town. The rest of the town is covered with a sandy soil, and slopes to Bear Creek, which has a very wide and swampy valley, consisting chiefly of meadow land and some tamarack. There is some very good farming land.

Range Thirteen West

Town 22, Nelson (in part.) The southern and western parts are occupied by the wide sandy valleys of Beef River and Beef Slough, in which the soil is very poor except at the foot of the bluffs. Trout Creek, which runs through the northeast part of the town, has a long and well cultivated valley, from a quarter to a half mile in width. There are some high limestone ridges in Sections 2, 4, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15 and 22, which are timbered with white oak ; the rest of the town has the Potsdam for the surface rock.

Town 23, Nelson (in part.) This town consists of high limestone ridges in the central and southern parts ; the northern part is occupied by Little Bear Creek and its tributaries. The soil is very sandy in the valleys but clay on the ridges. The formations are Potsdam and Lower Magnesian in nearly equal parts.

Range Fourteen West

Towns 22, 23 and 24, Western parts of Nelson and MaxvUle. This particular situation is not mentioned in the Geol. Report as far as these towns lie in Buffalo County. There is indeed nothing to be said aboiit them, except that no part contains any considerable hills, and that in fact so much of them as is contained within this county is 5n the sandy prairies along Beef Slough and adjacent bottoms, and in these bottoms themselves.

Geology 29

will know that whoever reported the above may have been a competent geologist, but was rather at sea concerning the towns. A glance at the county map will show, that Sect. 9 of Township 19 North of Range 11 West, is just east of the Village of Fountain City, its southwest corner reaching down into the same. AS there is a specification for this section differing from the common reports on the bluffs in the county, I found it advisable to refer to the situation.

There are two small outliers of St. Peter's sand stone in the southern part of the county on the ridge between Eagle Creek and the Trempealeau River.

1. This is a large outlying area, comprising parts Sects. 2, 3, 10, and 11 in T. 19 R. 11 equal to one square mile. It only manifests its presence by making the soil more sandy, in occasional boulders and fragments of sand stone, and in a few outcrops in place.

2. There is a small area, equal to about half a section, on the same ridge, and a short distance north of area No. 1. The greater part of it lies in Section 35, T. 20 R. 11.

Eemarks: - By consulting the " Atlas of Buffalo County " we find that area No. 1 above described is between the east and west branches of Eagle Creek in the town of Cross.

Section No. 1. Tbempealeau Mountain Geological Formations

The formations of the territory described in this report are confined to the Lower Silurian age, with the exception of the Quaternary. The following general section, taken from Prof Dana's Manual, embraces the present received order of geological periods and epochs in North America, and to it is added another

Epochs In Western Wisconsin

From the above table it will be seen that there are but seven epochs to be considered, the remainder being either denuded, never deposited, or unexposed. They will be considered in the natural order of their deposition, beginning wiih the oldest and lowest, which is the Potsdam Sandstone.

Note: In the following descriptions I have been obliged to abbreviate those in the Geol. Survey and have given a prominence to those epochs of which we find examples in this county.

Potsdam Sandstone

The territory covered by the Potsdam forms a large part of the district examined (Western Wisconsin.) It is found in the valleys of all the streams, and in the northern part it becomes the surface rock of the entire country.

The strata of the Potsdam emerge from the valley of the Mississippi a short distance above Prairie du Chien, and rise gradually in ascending the river until they attain their maximum elevation of 470 feet above the river, between La Crosse and Trempealeau. From this point, continuing to ascend the river, the elevation diminishes irregularly; being 350 feet at Fountain City, 270 feet at Alma, 820 feet at Buflalo City, 200 feet at Maiden Rock,

Trempealeau Mountain, of which a section is given above, is the most noteworthy specimen of this formation. Of other points as lithological character, stratification and such things it is bhe place to speak in a compendium on geology, but not here.

One thing almost escaped my notice. The Geol. Survey, Vol. IV, page 49 gives a sketch of the Cascade in NE I Sect. 7, T. 23, R. 13. The locality is well known in the northwestern part of the county, and presents a very good exposure of Potsdam sandstone. The sketch is only remarkable for its clumsiness and general want of exactness and artistic execution.

The " Economical Products " of this formation are summed up as follows: 1, Iron; 2, copper; 3, building stone; 4, artesian and mineral wells.

1. Iron. This mineral, says the Geol. Survey, is quite abundant in the counties of Richland, Crawford and Vernon. But since the publication of the work this mineral has been discovered in many places in Dunn, Eau Claire and Chippewa counties, and, last but by no means least, in several places in Buffalo county. So far. May 1887, we have abundant excitement, but no reported results. If, however, such results should be published before this book has gone through the press, they will be either included in, or annexed to it.

3. Building Stone. A very good article of building stone is obtained from the dolomite layers of the Potsdam, which are usually found about one hundred feet below the surface of the formation. Numerous quarries exist everywhere in the county, but the exact or chemical nature of the stone has nowhere been ascertained up to the present time.

Sand suitable for mortar, plastering, etc., can be obtained readily from any part of the Potsdam formation. The only objection to it is that it is sometimes of too fine a grain, for some kinds of mortar. Much of this sand is perfectly white and very pure and probably adapted to the manufacturing of glass.

Geology. 3S Lower Magnesian Limestone

The composition of the Lower Magnesian is somewhat liable to variation in different parts of the formation. Usually, however, it is a highly magnesian limestone, and its average composition is as follows: pealeau River, the Lower Magnesian does not contain nearly so much chert and other eilicious material as in the southern part of the state. Calcite is, however, of more frequent occurrence. In the bluffs near Fountain City, in JBuffalo County, (and near Alma also,) it exists in small irregular layers and masses of a few inches in diameter, quite transparent and cleavable, filling cavities of the rock and sometimes giving it a brecciated appearance. The northern outcrop of the Lower Magnesian forms an extremely irregular line. Beginning with Township 16, Range 1, East, it may be traced westward nearly to the mouth of the La Crosse River, about 6 miles. From here to the Trempealeau River is a wide tract of country from which the formation has been nearly eroded, arid remains only in thin and widely separated outliers.

On entering Bufialo County in its southeastern part, on account of the increased height of the country "and the gradual slope of the strata to the northwest, the Lower Magnesian limebtone appears in a thickness of from 100 to 200 feet, forming high cliffs and escarpments along the Mississippi from the Trempealeau to the Chippewa River.

The northern outcrop of the formation in Buffalo County lies parallel to the Mississippi and about 18 miles distant from it. (Where?) On approaching this line a marked change is seen in the topography of the country. The valleys are much wider, and the hills not so high or so steep as near the Mississippi. Probably this appearance results from the original thin deposit of the limestone near its line of outcrop; which being worn away sooner than in the south part of the county, the subsequent erosive action took effect on the softer Potsdam; thus in the same period of time making wide valleys in the northern part of the county and narrow ones near the Mississippi where the thickness of the Lower Magnesian Limestone was greater. .

The Economical Products

2. Lead. The same may be said of this mineral, all rumors to the contrary notwithstanding. This formation, however, is said to contain the lead mines of MisBourir

3. Building Stone. Wherever the Lower Magnesian is exposed, there is always an abundance of good building stone. The lower beds of the formation are usually found in regular heavy ledges, very suitable for quarrying. Quarries of this kind are quite numerous, especially on the western side of the bluffs, so that there is no need for special mention of anyone.

4. lAme. The Lower Magnesian formation affords lime with as much facility as building stone. There are numerous lime kilns all along the bluffs, but the stones for the same are seldom quarried from regular beds, much oftener from large rocks which have come down from the cliffs at some time and been buried more or less in the drift. Those engaged in lime burning usually select the stone by its surface appearance and its fracture, and could not tell to what bed of limestone-formation it belongs.

Owing to the large percentage of magnesia in the Lower Magnesian, the lime obtained from it is somewhat hydraulic and slakes slowly. This quality may be regarded as rather, advantageous than, otherwise.

It is scarcely necessary to enumerate the kilns, but it may be remarked that they are usually of very primitive construction with imperfect mechanical appliances. An exception to this I noticed on the bank of the slough in the upper part of Fountain City, where the stone used for lime also comes from a regular quarry.

From the preceding pages the reader will find a notice of the occurrence of St. Peter's Sandstone in this county. Its very limited occurremce excuses ttie neglect to mention any economic products derived from it in other localities.

Galena Limestone Quaternary Formation

Glacial Period. The glaciers' mentioned above have left some deposits in their places characteristic of their former presence. Vol. IV of Geological Survey says: "The most southerly glacial . deposit observed (yi western Wisconsin) is situated in Buffalo County on he SW quarter of Sect. 14, Town 19, R. U, at m elevation of 380 feet above the Mississippi River. It consists of a small isolated patch - not over 400 feet in its longest dimension -^ of small gravel coiitaining the usual drift materials, such as granite, quartz, trap, etc., but no large bov^lders. It lies on the side of a small ravine, near the summit of the ridge, and is exposed for a short distance by a road excavation. A similar deposit of fine gravel is found in SW quarter of Sect. 3 of the same township, on the slope towards Eagle Creek.

From these points northwestward, to the Chippewa River, patches of drift gravel are found at numerous points, but bowlders are rare. Beyond the Chippewa bowlders and larger deposits occur, but the glacial deposits are nowhere in this district very krge.

There are numerous places in the valley of the Mississippi, on both sides of the river, where heavy deposits are found of niateria,ls foreign to the adjacent formations. The deposits consist chiefly of silicious sand, with some clay, and a large percentage of small gravel. The gravel is chiefly composed of smooth rounded pebbles of quartz, granite, trap, and fragments ot other Archean rocks. The pebbles seldom exceed a few ounces in weight The deposits are, for the most part, stratified, although this can not always be readily observed. They are not continuous, being found only in such places, where circumstances prevented their removal by the streams. There are, of course, numerous deposits of this kind in the county, but none are specified in- the Geol. Survey. Swamps are frequently caused by impervious beds of clay and gravel belonging to this formation. This, however, must not be taken for an assertion, that all swamp's rest on such beds, although the same cause is usually expected to produce the same effect.

During this period, the last, but not by any means so Very young a period, there was a general elevation of the country, which resulted in bringing up the Champlain deposits of the river valleys to their present elevation, gradually increasing the velocity of the rivers and removing the greater part of the drift fillings of the last narfaed period. Sometimes this was only a change in the distribution of materials, such as is at present constantly progressing. I have heard of no scientific section of the country showing the thickness of its layers, and we have so many diffel^ences in that matter, that but little would have been gained by one investigation. Among the remarkable features of this period there are two, Calcareous Deposits and Sinks. By calcareous deposits are meaUt those layers of carbonate of lime that are found in caves on the floor or else on the roof or ceiling. These are stalagmites and stalactites. This occurrence in the county is possible and probable but not proven.

Sinks we call those almost circular, funnel-shaped depressions, often unexpectedly met with on the level summit of most of our bluffs. They very seldom contain any water, even after a copious rain, w'hich, considering that they have usually a diameter of ten to fifteen feet, shows that there must be some rather capacious opening in the deepest spot to let the water escape. This always was the case in the few I ever examined; sometimes there were loose stones between Which the water could easily escape. As ther'e must be some place to which the water can descend, it is natural to connect the sinks with caves, but other fissures may answer the same purpose. A close investigation of some large sink might therefore lead to the discovery of a cave, of which we have not at present any instance in this county.

Having now come through the periods, (or rather up) usually accepted by scientific men in such matters it remains to speak of some occurrences going on before our own eyes.

One of them is the undermining of the cliffs on the crest of our bluffs close to the edge of the slope. Wherever the soft sandstone of the Potsdam formation is exposed we find that the harder ledges are jutting out over the foundation and when we examine the condition of the soil of the slope close to the rock, we find it to consist of the same coarse sand as the foundation. We can also perceive, especially after the winter frosts have thawed out, that the foundation stone is peeling off. This, in course of time, destroys the support of the superincumbent rock, and it comes down usually in heavy masses that are horizontally divided, and separate when they strike the ground, and bound down the slope, bury theDHselves by the force of their weight and momentum in the soft debris or reach sometimes the very foot of the declivity. The most considerable of these disruptions must have happened many years ago oh the west side slope between Deer Creek and the Norwegian road.

Precisely how long ago I would not assert, but that oaks and other trees grew between the horizontal fissures of such rocks, can be seen in traveling along the Alma and Durand road. One rock, sandstone, is- split in two parts by the roots of a birch, which stands upon it, the roots reaching down into the soil for nutrition. The fissure is widening from year to year, and will continue until one day one or both of the two pieces will fall, or break near the ground.

The last occurrence of a similar disruption was the coming down of the pinnacle on the northwest corner, of the once celebrated Twelve Mile Bluff, at Alma, right opposite to the turn of the river to the southwest, and above Lane's sawmill. The impression made by the detached piece on the ground where it fell was 124 feet long; the top piece, measuring about 15 feet in the three main directions came nearly down to the road, the remainder scattered, but did not roll very far away from the steepest part of the slope.

Excavations bring out some of the rock, and reveal the depth of the drift or detritus lying over it. At one place in the city of Alma in an excavation of about 26 feet down to the level of Main Street, the detritus consists of about 16 feet of mixed gravel and clay, with a great many blocks of stone, sandstone and limestone, and possibly some other material, as granitic and similar bowlders. The two former kinds are of any possible shape, small and large, and but little, if any, worn. At some place, about a mile below town, we find coarse gravel, pebbles and bowlders, largely of the granitic character. Along the Mississippi, and, (so I have heard) along the shores of Lake Pepin, and especially at the mouth of the Chippewa River, Carnelians of very good qualities, also rounded pebbles of white quartz are found, intermixed with many different other kinds, of red, or reddish color, some translucent others dull, also some pudding stones, and some stones showing on the surface the cavities in which other material once must have been contained. Several times I noticed when digging on the surface of the prairie, where the soil belongs to the most recent period, splinters or small rounded pebbles of very translucent reddish color, probably small carnelians, without veins. All these finds are accidental, but where did the material come from? To answer these and a few other questions which have been asked in the course of this geological description, I would have to write and the reader would have to peruse a compendium, or perhaps several, on geology, mineralogy, and lithology, a task which we will defer into eternity.

As a supplement, to what has been said in the foregoing geological sketch I have to add the following report made by Mr. L. P. Hunner of Alma, one of the incorporators of the Buffalo County Mining Company.

Iron Mines

The iron was discovered May 25th, 1887. The mines are located on Sections 19 and 20 of Township 23 North of Range 13 West. So far nine shafts have been sunk varying in depth from 10 to 50 feet. The successive layers of material above the iron are: Sandstone, Limestone, Soapstone, Kaoline, and Clay. Davenport Fisher, chemist in Milwaukee, gives the following analysis of the specimen of ore sent from these mines: Iron 62.72 per cent., Manganese 3.04 per cent., Silica 2.91 per cent., Phosphorus .035 per cent. (July 11, 1887.)

Remarks. - Being no expert in this matter I refer the reader to page 613, part III of Vol. I of the Geology of Wisconsin, where he will find a fuU and correct description of ores and a general scale of their relative values. The presence of iron in the locality described in the above report was surmised some years ago by Mr. Berlinger, the proprietor, who informed me of it when I surveyed his land. Rumors of the discovery of Iron in many other - localities in this county were diligently circulated for a while, but actual investigations have only been carried on in the locality indicated. The conclusion that, because Iron has been found in one bluff of our very similar formations, there may be some in other blufifs, is not unnatural, but, of course, by no means incontrovertible. The operations are not yet extensive enough to warrant any decisive judgment as to the commercial value of the mines, whether favorable or otherwise, and so I will dismiss the matter with the wish that those engaged in the enterprise and the community at large may be benefited by the new discovery.

But these discoveries, though certainly new, were by no means the first of their kind in this county. As early as 1855 there was mining for ore in the neighborhood of the old schoolhouse at Fountain City. Mr. John G. Kammueller, now deceased, who had been a foreman of miners in an iron mine in the Grandduchy of Baden, and his three sons William, Frederick and Leopold, who had also from boyhood been employed at the same business, were even at that early time convinced that metals would be found in our bluffs. Being, however, like most settlers of those early times, without the necessary means for the required investigations, they had to give up their diggings, although signs for ultimate success appeared to be favorable. The following year, 1856, the above named gentlemen, in company with John Martin and Ludwig Martin again tried their fortune with a new mine. This time they began to dig upon the bluff north of Fountain City, upon the Northeast Quarter of Northeast Quarter of Section 8 of Township 19, Range 11, where the depression, left after the caving in of the shaft, can still be seen. They dug down about 100 feet and found different metals. Towards spring they built a furnace, and smelted out about eight hundred pounds of metal. During the thaw in spring heavy rains prevailed, -and the water flowed into the shaft, partly ruining it, so that it was impossible to descend into it. In this enterprise they had received some aid from such citizens of Fountain City as were well inclined towards the matter. During the process of smelting there was considerable excitement in the neighborhood, and everybody went to have a look at it.

Mr. William Kammueller, who is still living in that neighborhood, holds to the opinion, that if they could have persevered, they would have found lead. The misadventure of their shaft tumbling in, burying their tools, etc., prevented further attempts ever since. For this information I am indebted to Mr. Jacob Meili of the Town of Milton, who is a son-in-law of Wm. Kammueller. The reader has already been directed to the study of such sources of geological information, as are now accessible and certainly of more weight and authority than any opinion of mine.

Natural History

NATURAL HISTORY. The following sketches or rather enumerations can not be expected to be scientifically accurate or complete. Indeed it may be objected by some people that they are too systematic and dry for many readers, but it must be observed that the description of Buffalo County could not have been complete without this chapter, and that we should not reject any object of fact or history merely because it is dry. The chapter on Natural History may, moreover, serve for reference with those who do not have the time or much inclination to investigate such matters closely, and would probably not have thought of buying a separate work on natural history. I am convinced that there are a great many such who, nevertheless have a latent desire to learn something of it, especially what may relate to their own surroundings. This should be encouraged especially among young folks. It was not considered necessary to add anything on Mineralogy, since all the materials of that branch of natural history had to be discussed under the head of Geology, to which the reader is hereby referred.

Zoology

It goes without contradiction that a book like this, though it aims at an accurate and somewhat minute description of the country and its natural productions, can not go any further in the latter part than an enumeration of those productions, which arc indigenous, that is, existed without and before settlement and cultivation. This is especially the case with animals 6f all kinds, or the province of Zoology, the description of the Animal Kingdom. The following lists, which I made up from those given in Vol. I of the Geological Survey of Wisconsin, have been submitted to the inspection of Prof. F. H. King of the Normal School in River Falls, and corrected according to his suggestions. The list of Birds may be said to be his work entirely, as he indicated by numbers corresponding to those in his exhaustive article on the same subject in the volume of the survey above stated, what birds he considered likely to occur at the different seasons of the year in this neighborhood. Perhaps it is not my particular vocation to make up some of these lists, as I am no hunter, nor a fisher, but I tried to do as well as circumstances permitted.

Weasels : Weasel, (white and little.) Frequent in these parts. Mink. Not very frequent. Skunk. Rather numerous of late. Otter, Possibly on sloughs and Mississippi. Badger; Rather scarce, unless the ground hog be its representative.

Natura.L History

Beaver : Common (Am.) Beaver. I have heard of only one pair, which was said to have lived in Bull's Valley, and doubt its present existence in this vicinity. Sqmrrels.- Fox Squirrel. Not numerous.

Gray Squirrel. More numerous; the black variety occurs sometimes. Red Squirrel. Abundant; small. Chipmunk. The little fence-mouse, so-called. Striped Gopher. Quite numerous. Pouched Gopher. Perhaps a few. Gray Gopher. Not numerous, but large and voracious. Woodchuck. Mistaken for others.

Wall-eyed Pike. Abundant. Gray Pike Perch. May be the same fish. White Bass. Numerous. Large-mouthed Black Bass. Abundant. Small-mouthed Black Bass. Common. Six-spined Bass. Probably in lakes. Rock Bass. Said to be caught. Common Sunfish. Frequent in places. Common Spotted Sunfish. Frequent in places. .

Of this family of animals only very few members are of interest or importance, or generally known to those who have not made the study of natural history their special object.

The Crawfishes are the most obvious representatives of the Crustaceans and the varieties living in Wiscpnsin may be distinguished as such that live in running waters, and such as live in sluggish waters and burrow in the adjacent soft or swampy land.

Of the second kind we have only one variety, Cambarus ObesuB, the Thick or Flat Crawfish, but whether it is used for food or o ther purposes by anybody but the cranes, I can not attest. Fresh-' water crawfishes are sometimes used for bait to catch larger sorts of fish.

- The list of Crustaceans in Vol. I of Geological Survey contains many more names but all in Latin, and from this we might conclude that the species enumerated are known only to scientists of that stripe, that they have no current, popular or vulgar n£tme&, aad do not want to make the acquaintance of any but the most distinguished zoologists. To all of which we have no objections to offer.

Insects, in a reslricted sense, are six-footed articulates. (Now we know it!) Wisconsin is rich in insect life, among which are many southern forms. The presence of these southern insects may he satisfactorily accounted for, in part, by the warmer summierstbat occur west of .theiGreat liakes, than are experienced in the same latitude east of these great bodies of water - a curving north of the summer isotbea-m. (P. R. Hoy.) Owing to the fact that the names of insects occurring in Wisconsin, which are enumerated in Vol. I of the Geological Survey are all in Latin, and there are only names for the _most obvious forms in use among the people at large, I had concluded to arrange this matter differently, and follow in the main the plan of a little treatise on " Our Common Insects " by A. S. Packard^ Jr., which seemed much better adapted to the purposes of a book like this. But there is neither system nor consistency in its arrangements, and except for philosophically inclined eatomologists the book is of but little use. I then procured " Insects at Home," which styles itself a "popular account of all those insects which are useful or destructive." It is a ponderous .book, and certainly a very useful book for those who can devote three-fourths of a long life to the subject,- but for me it ihad the one great fault, tha,t only English specimens were treated of. I marked out a long list, but the longer it becai:ie, the more I was bewildeired, and then I gave it up. Of course, thesre ^e numerous insects conamon to all latitudes of the temperate, zone, but which of them, besides the -most familiar ones, were to be found in our region w as so much more difficult to find out, as almost every, naturalist seems to have a peculiar system of nomenclattire, with the one agg'ravation, that common or popular names seemed to be equally abhorred by all of them. It occurred to me that I could maike a system of myiown formy own purpose and that this would be rather more comprehensible than those I had taken so much time and trouble to adopt. There was once a botanist of renown who proposed to divide all plants into two classes, viz: Those which smell sweet, and those who do not. Similarly I propose to divide the immense swarm of insects into two classes, Useful and Noxious. I am "vyell aware of the difficulties of arranging the different species into the two classes and may state two objections to the system.

The first is that genera rnust be divided, since one species of a certain genus may be useful, while others are decidedly noxious. The second is, that the first class will be infinitely small compared with the second in every respect, not only in the number of species, but still much more in the number of individuals. The recommendation of the system is, however, this, that most people naturally make the same distinction, and prefer not to recognize others.

Beneficial Insects

The only one of this class is the Bee. Bees are divided into domesticated and wild. To the domesticated kind belong also those swarms, which desert at swarming time and build their dwellings in hollow trees. The wild ones number many species among which the Bumble Bee is perhaps the most extensively known. All of them to enumerate would take too much time and space.

This is done either by. catching and destroying these insects for food, as is done by the Spiders, or it is done by depositing eggs into the bodies of other insects, on which the larva Irom the egg will feed and destroy them. Such insects may be called useful parasites in distinction to other parasites, which are noxious, either by annoyance or destructiveness.

,>-i>";Every body knows the Spiders, but to distinguish the different species which are indigenous with us, may be left to future naturalists.

Among the Useful Parasitets there are some wasps and some bees of lower order, and in some cases the ants may be considered as belonging to this class.

Noxious Insects

Insects are noxious by reason of the annoyance they cause, as for instance flies, mosquitoes and such, or by reason of their destructiveness, inflicting actual loss or damage to crops or other things. It is not very easy to say of some insects whether they are more annoying or more destructive, and not a few are both. Hence I think it will be best, to enumerate the different kinds with short remarks.

These are noxious by eating up grapes and probably other sweet berries and fruits. They are also very annoying by their sharp and poisonous stings. Although some of the numerous species are rather beneficial by the destruction of noxious insects, I think most of them must be considered as belonging to this class.

Everybody is much more intimately acquainted with this singing and stinging little pest, than can be considered pleasant, and it is somewhat comforting to think that there is but one species of it in this part of the country.

By this combination I do not mean to indicate any scientific relationship between the two annoyances named, though probably everybody will admit a superficial similarity. Of both kinds we have not only a superabundant multitude, but also quite a number of species.

These two are here named together because they are very often mistaken or miscalled for each other. So, for instance, is the potato-bug unmistakably a beetle.

Of beetles we have a very great number of species some of which live in the water, others in the ground, others on trees and under their bark. Many of these kindg are probably neutral, that is neither beneficial nor noxious ; others like the ten-dotted Colorado beetle, alias potato-bug are very destructive on the leaves of plants in the larva state; others are destructive by their larva, boring in the wood and bark of treey, The l9,rva of the May

Beetle or June Bug is very destrucfeive to the roots of vegetation in fields and gardens, but the insect is not So very numerous here. Of bugs we may mention the Chinch bug so enormously numerous and destructive to all kinds of grain, and many grasses; the Bed-Bug, a nauseous annoyance, of which there is also a siiperfluity.

The unsophisticated may resent it as a slander if they see these most beautiful creatures arranged among the noxious insects; but it is none the less true that they all lay eggs, and caterpillars are hatched from these eggs, and these creatures are fearfully destructive to everything of vegetable origin, especially in its green state. After they have done the mischief they become "good," like some people, who are never so good as when they sleep. This transition state is called pupa. After it follows the "imago,", the "true picture," in which most butterflies do nothing but lay their eggs, preparations for a new series of the same old mischief. To begin enumeration of all kinds of butterflies is impossible in this book.

Grasshoppe'rs' and Orickets. Grasshoppers must live on soniething and hence, as they are not known to be of any visible use, we must put them down among destructive insects, though in our neighborhood the damage done by them is insignificd,nt. The same is to be said of crickets. The field cricket has proved an annoyance to farmers by desti-oying the bands On the sheaves bound by harvester twine, thus causing mUch trouble arid probably also loss.

Lice, Ticks, and Fleas. They are here named together because they are parasites upon the body of living animals. Disgusting as the subject may be, we: must, remark that these parasites change in their form, and nature according to their habitation, and as lice, for instance, are found upon men . quadrupeds and birds, there is a, vast variety of them. This isanalogous with ticks and fleas, but in our climate the tick is neither so numerous nor so large and strong a-i in warmer regions. The flea, though found upon dogs and perhaps other animals, has not yet infested the human species in this region.

The very small insects which are destructive to many things, cause irritation of the skin, actual itch and mange are caused by mites. Weevils are destructive to seeds of all kinds. They are not always, but in some cases, so small as to be microscopic, like the mites.

Naturalists distinguish a great many species and varieties of this very remarkable insect. It is my opinion that the most highly developed species are not indigenous here, there being in fact but few species present. Ants, may be, and are undoubtedly, useful in many ways, but they are an annoyance wherever they have taken up their residence in gardens or houses, and for that reason I have classed them among the noxious insects..

Parasites of all kinds belong mostly to insects, but do not form a particular class of them. They belong to a great many classes or species and are only mentioned here to indicate that though they might form the objects of a separate study, they could not be made much of in this place.