Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin - Chapter 11, 1880 (part 12 of 12)

Township 16 north, Range I4. east [Ripon) : Ripon Station, 352 feet ; cliff, west of road, 341 feet; City Falls, under tressel bridge, 332 feet; city, top of St. Peters, near lime-kiln, 351 feet ; city, top of hill, west of lime-kiln, 373 feet ; St. Peter's, west of lime-kiln, 358 feet ; Coomb's quarry, bottom, 370 feet ; Section 2 (estimated), southeast corner, 309 feet ; Section 19, middle west line, 304 feet ; Section 20, northwest quarter of northwest quarter, 327 feet ; Section 20, northwest of center, quarry, 400 feet ; Section 20, little west of center, 397 feet ; Section 20, near middle of south line, 350 feet ; Section 20, southwest quarter of southeast 351 feet; Section 20, northeast quarter of northwest quarter, 381 feet; Section 21, quarry southwest of Mr. Starr's, 364 feet ; Section 26, northwest quarter, 366 feet ; Section .28, north line northeast quarter, 370 feet ; Section 29, northeast quarter, near center, 350 feet ; Section 29, northeast quarter, top of limestone, 370 feet ; Section 29, twenty rods south of limestone, 341 feet ; Section 35, southeast quarter, 364 feet ; Section 36, southeast quarter, stream, 343 feet.

Township 16 north, of Range 15 east [Rosendale) : Rosendale Station, 313 feet ; West Rosendale Station, 304 feet ; Rubicon Station, 440 feet ; Section 4, southwest quarter, 288 feet ; Section 4, southwest quarter, quarry, 278 feet ; Section 28, northwest quarter, river, 271 feet ; Section 32, southeast corner, 345 feet.

Township 16 north. Range 18 east [Taycheedah) : Lake Winnebago, 162 feet ; Section 5, middle north line northwest quarter, 305 feet ; Section 5, center, 386 feet ; Section 22, southwest corner, hill, 450 feet ; Section 22, middle north line, 438 feet ; Section 25, north line, hills, 408 feet; Section 25, north line, valleys, 358 feet ; Sections 29, southwest quarter of southeast quarter, 341 feet ; Section 32, north-northwest quarter, railroad, 219 feet.

Artesian Wells

The term artesian is frequently applied to deep wells, without regard to whether wat flows at the surface or not ; but it will here be confined to flowing wells, without regard depth. Flowing wells depend upon these requisite conditions : There should be an impervioi stratum to prevent the escape of the water below ; a previous water-bearing stratum upon th to furnish the flow of water ; a second impervious layer upon this, to prevent the escape of tl water above, it being under pressure from the fountain-head. These must dip, and there mu be no adequate outlet for the water at a lower level than the well. There must also be a suf cient collecting area or reservoir in connection with the porous stratum, and it must have suf cient elevation to act as a fountain-head. Wells of this description in Eastern Wisconsin ai divided into six difl^erent classes, according to the formation from which they derive their flow (1) Those that derive their flow entirely from the drift;. (2) those that derive their flow fro the junction of the drift with the indurated rocks below; (3) those that originate in tl Niagara limestones ; (4) those that arise from the Galena and Trenton limestone (5) those from the St. Peters sandstone ; and, (6) those from the primordial zon The wells of Fond du Lac County belong to the first, second, fourth and fifth classei In number and variety of source, these flowing wells of the county stand pre-eminent.

In the city , of Fond du Lac, there are three classes of comparatively shallow wells that derii their flow from within twenty feet of the surface of the galena limestone rock, either above ( below it, it being from two to nearly one hundred feet beneath the soil. In the first, fiowin water is found in the blue clay which underlies the superficial red clay. The water is usuall reached in a stratum of quicksand, from six inches to six feet in thickness. In the second; tl flow is obtained between what is locally known as "concrete" and the rock. This concreti which varies from two to twenty feet in thickness, is the lowest member of the drift at th: point, and seems to consist of partially cemented sand and gravel. The first fiow of water : usually accompanied by a green or brown sand. The flow of the third class originates in tl same rock, within from six to twenty feet of its surface and is unaccompanied, in general, b sand of any kind. The vast majority of the wells of the city belong to one of these thn classes.

From this it appears that this rock, in common with nearly all the so-called limestone of Eastern Wisconsin, is really a dolomite. The following is an approximate analysis of the water of this well, leaving off decimals in calculating the proportions :

The fountain on First street, belonging to B. Wild & Co., represents a yet more deep-seated system. This well is 326 feet deep, and passes entirely through the galena and Trenton limestones, reaching the St. Peters sandstone below, whence it derives a flow of forty-eight gallons per minute. The stream has been carried by pipes fifty-three feet above the surface. It flows with such force, that, with hose and a quarter-inch nozzle attached, it projects a stream from thirty to thirty-five feet high, and forty-eight feet horizontally.

..tirely to the drift - possible sources are found on almost every side, to the east, south west and northwest. To the east and south, there lies a large ledge of Niagara limestone, under laid by impervious shale, from the surface of which issue frequent springs. The clay deposit of the basin in which the city of Fond du Lac lies, abut against and overlap this shale. Th junction is, in all probability, permeable to water, which would thus reach the porous strata o sand and gravel that "are found within the blue clay. That this is the true explanation of th artesian wells of Taycheedah and Byron is more than probable. To the w.est, the blue clay rise to the surface, and lies upon, or graduates into, the more gravelly drift hills of that region and may not improbably derive thence its water supply.

The fountain-heads of the second and third classes - those that rise from the " concrete " am from the limestone - are doubtless the same, or at least their fountain heads are associated, excep perhaps those of the deep wells, whose reservoir is more distant ; in all cases, it is probably t the westward. Lamartine and adjoining towns furnish favorable conditions. The surface o the rock, as well as its layers, rise in that direction. The slight local exception to this in th western portion of the city is not sufficient to aifect the general problem. The rock appears a the surface to the southwest, along Seven Mile Creek, at an elevation of 122 feet above Laki Winnebago. The general surface of the town of Lamartine is about 150 feet above the lake and consists of low hills and ridges interspersed with marshes. The surface drainage is ver imperfect. The hills and ridges are composed of the varying mixed material of the unassorte( drift, and are more or less permeable to water.

Phenomena connected with the boring of wells in this region, show that certain of the layer of the underlying magnesian limestone are practically impervious to water, while others are not These with the clay above furnish the necessary pervious and impervious strata, and complet the requisite conditions. The fountain head of Mr. Wild's well is to be found along the line o outcrop of the St. Peters sandstone, within which its reservoir undoubtedly lies. Near Ripon, th St. Peters sandstone outcrops at an elevation of about 326 feet above Lake Michigan, or abou 150 feet above the surface of the well, thus giving an abundant elevation. The flowing wells o Taycheedah are from sixty to seventy feet deep, but do not reach the rock; It seems mos probable that they derive their flow from veins having their origin at the surface of the shal beneath the ledge, as already explained. The water in some of the wells is highly impregnate! with sulphuretted hydrogen. In the town of Byron, adjoining Fond du Lac on the south, oi the farms of Henry Bush, D. D. Jones and Mr. Searles, there are several wells having a rathe scanty and variable flow. They are not, however, immediately affected by rains. The well belonging to Mr. Jones are seventy feet deep. Rock was struck at Mr. Searles' at a depth c 170 feet - but did not' yield a flow. The fountain head of these is probably in the blufiB to th south.

The artesian wells of the town of Oakfield are located in Sections 9, 15, 16 and 17, an occupy an extensive depression stretching northeastward to Fond du Lac. H. D. Hitt ha three wells from sixty-eight to seventy-four feet deep. The following is a typical section : 1 surface soil ; 2, marl ; 3, blue clay ; 4, small vein of sand ; 5, alternate blue clay, san and gravel ; 6, rock at from forty-eight to fifty-four feet from the surface.

Water flowed in a small stream before the rock was struck. Mr. Whittaker secured a fin flow in a vein of sand beneath blue clay, at from twenty to twenty-two feet from the surface S. Scovil, residing on Section 17, has two flowing wells, one forty-eight and the other seventy five feet deep. The first mentioned is thirty-seven feet in blue clay and twelve feet in limestonf It is situated near the western extremity of the depression before mentioned, where the surfac gradually rises toward the drift hills that form the " divide " between the Mississippi and S' Lawrence basins. The latter lies somewhat farther eastward, and penetrates fifty ftfet of pure claj without seams of sand or gravel, and extends twenty-five feet into the limestone beneath. Th: well has a brisk, steady flow, about one inch in cross section, and is not noticeably affected by raini The former one is much affected by rains, the change being noticeable within twenty-four hours

The wells of Mr. Hatch and Mr. Wells are similarly affected. These do nob penetrate the rock. There are two systems here^ the more superficial, whose veins lie near the junction of the drift and limestone, being sometimes above and sometimes below, and whose reservoir is in the vicinity and is superficial ; and the deeper one, whose fountain-head is more distant. The reservoirs in both cases are probably to the westward and northwestward. At the mill of W. N. Davis, on the shore of Lake Winnebago in Calumet, are two fine wells, giving a copious flow of clear, cold, sparkling water, impregnated with considerable iron and some sulphuretted hydrogen. It is about ninety feet in depth. All the drift wells in -Fond du Lac County may be considered as constituting one group, owing their origin to the basin-shaped depression occupied by Lake Winnebago, the superficial layer of which is impervious and prevents the water from escaping into the lake until pierced.

The deepest artesian well sunk in the county was put down by J. Dobbins, at the village of Elmore, Section 15, town of Ashford. The upper coral bed was at the surface.

Water Powers

The great Interior and the West are laboring under an error, which intelligent action may remove. They produce vast quantities of crude material needing manufacture. This bulky and heavy matter they transport a thousand miles to be worked up. They likewise produce immense quantities of food. This they carry the same thousand miles to feed those who manufacture the other material. They then bring back the manufactured article, murmuring at its expense, and praying for cheaper transportation. More simply and truly stated, the situation is this : At one end of a thousand miles is a man and his tools ; at the other end is the heap of crude material he is to manufacture, the bulky food he is to eat, and the market for his products ; and the problem is, " Shall the mountain go to Mohammed, or will Mohammed come to the mountain? " An intelligent, practical answer to this will go some way toward solving the problem of cheaper transportation. Agriculture, mining and manufacture, form a triangle of industries that are mutually dependent, and the nearer they can be brought together, the more successful will each be. The question then - What facilities for manufacturing does our State present ? - becomes one of the highest importance, especially as to our preponderating agricultural interests. Chief among these is water-power. In Eastern Wisconsin (and Fond du Lac County is to be considered in that district or portion of the State) there is a vast amount of water-power situated in the heart of an exceedingly rich farming country, with abundant facilities for transportation ; and this is not by any means a subordinate consideration, in the midst of an intelligent, cultured society. What is needed is for capitalists to fully realize that the natural facilities for manufacturing in the Interior must, in the immediate future, be utilized to their utmost capacity. A Washburn in another State, and a Meyer at home, are gifted with sufficient prescience to foresee this, and the legitimate result' is an unbounded success.

But what of the water-powers of Fond du Lac County ? A comparison of the streams and smaller marshes as laid down on the Government plats, with what we now see, shows important changes in their size. Large areas that are represented as marsh on the plats of the United States surveys, are now comparatively dry and arable. Many of the smaller streams have disappeared or become mere periodical runs. These changes have been much more marked in the forest regions of the country than in the prairies or openings, and are so intimately connected with the clearing-away of the timber, that it is a fair inference that this is the main cause. Thi timber in some portions was very heavy and consequently permitted but a very feeble under growth. The removal of the trees left the surface almost entirely bare, and a krge portion wa put at once under cultivation. The eifect of so great a change naturally made itself felt upoi the drainage of wooded portions of the county. To the extent to which this has gone thus fai it has, doubtless, on the whole been a benefit, as it has induced a drier, lighter, warmer soil, an( more healthful atmosphere. But the limits of benefit in this direction may be assumed to havi been reached, and the danger now to be apprehended is that it will proceed to an injurious extent This, however, can be avoided by fostering the growth of forest trees.

But the water-power of the county has not been benefited by the change ; on the contrary it has been injured by it. There are, however, a number of streams in the county which fur nish good powers, but their efficiency is not remarkable in any particular instance. The surface o the country nowhere rises to any great altitude ; while four ftv6rs - the Manitowoc, the Sheboygan the Milwaukee and the Rock - have more or less of their head-branches within the county limits The streatns flowing into Winnebago Lake are of inconsiderable length, and have no great fall The most eflScient powers, therefore, must be sought for outside the county - down the rivers jus mentioned, and particularly upon the Lower Fox. But the lack of superior water-powers ii compensated by easily and readily attainable steam-powers, which are rendered available as wel' as profitable, because of the abundance of cheap fuel.

Geological Foemations

Archean Roek. - The northern part of the State is occupied by the upper portion of th( Archean rock, called the Huronian, the lower or Laurentian series' being nowhere visible ii Wisconsin. These rocks dip to the south and east, and form the ground floor on which lies th( paleozoic formation, consisting of sandstone and limestone, which constitute the upper formatioi in this part of the State. Its average depth beneath the surface of Fond du Lac County is abou 1,000 feet. The artesian well sunk by John Dobbins at Elmore penetrates the Archean rock t( the depth of twelve feet.

Potsdam Sandstone. - On the great floor thus formed lies the Potsdam sandstone to th( depth of 200 to 250 feet, but nowhere does it come to the surface in this county.

Lower Magnesian Limestone. - Upon the Potsdam sandstone lies the lower magnesiai limestone. This is very irregular in thickness, varying from 60 to 150 feet. It appears at th( surface in the town of Ripon, west and north of the city of Ripon in high bluffs, and has beei bored into in the city of Fond du Lac, in the sinking of the artesian well at the high-schoo building, at the depth of 420 feet, and at S. B. Ambry's well on Division street, at a depth o 426 feet, 3 inches.

St. Peters Sandstone. - Upon the wavy and irregular surface of the lower magnesiai limestone, rests the St. Peters sandstone. It is the only sandstone which outcrops in thi county, and then only in two towns, in Section 31, town of Metomen, and in the town o Ripon, west and north of the city of Ripon. In Section 17, it is cut through by the Sheboy gan & Fond du Lac Railroad, and in Section 9 by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad It is exposed in several places in the bluffs west of Ripon, and is everywhere a soft, crumbling sandstone, usually white or yellow ; being permeable to water, it forms the reservoir for th( principal supply of the deep wells in the city of Fond du Lac and vicinity. At the high-schoo artesian well, it is 293 feet from the surface, and 130 feet deep ; at S. B. Amory's, 295 fee from the surface, and 131 feet thick.

Trenton Limestone. - There lies on the St. Peters sandstone the Trenton or blue lime stone, about seventy-five feet thick, which only outcrops in the west tier of sections in the towni of Alto and Metomen, where it is much covered with drift and soil, and in the town of Ripon where the lower beds, which are partly buff colored, are well displayed ; also at the falls withii the city of Ripon, caused by the waters of Silver Creek running over the limestone and wash ing away the St. Peters sandstone from beneath ; also a few rods west of the business part of thai city, where the lowest layers of this rock are about forty feet higher than at the falls, and along the bluff in the west part of that city where the lower beds are twenty to thirty feet higher, from which point they dip south until they disappear beneath Crystal Creek.

G-alena Limestone. - Immediately upon the blue or Trenton limestone rests the gray or galena limestone, possessing similar characteristics. It derives its name from the fact that it is the main formation that bears galena or lead in the southwestern part of the State. It differs from the Trenton in being deeper bedded and having a more irregular texture, weathering into rough, craggy forms, sometimes with a rotten appearance. The galena forms the surface rock of the west half of the county, embracing some of its most fertile towns. It underlies the towns of Friendship, Fond du Lac, north half of Byron, the north half and west half of Oakfield, Lamartine, Eldorado, Springvale, Waupun, Alto, Metomen and the east half of Ripon.

This rock is easily disintegrated by atmospheric action, while it loses a part of its lime and magnesia (being a dolomite). It produces a valuable clayey soil for agricultural purposes. The thickness of the rock is about 125 feet, it being penetrated for artesian wells in different parts of the county and yielding a considerable number of flowing wells. There are quarries of this rock in different parts of the western towns. The stone at Waupun is the most valuable for building purposes, dressing well, but coarse under the hammer and chisel. The most eastern outcrop in the county is at Moore's quarry in the Third Ward of the city of Fond du Lac. There are also beds of this stone open in Sections 7 and 16 in the town of Fond du Lac, and at Seven Mile Creek in the town of Lamartine.

The galena rock underlies the soil of the beautiful prairies, fine groves and oak openings which, in a state of nature, so highly adorned the county.

Cincinnati Shales and Limestone. - The galena limestone is succeeded by a series of shales and limestone known as the Cincinnati group, which constitute the upper series of the Lower Silurian period. This formation is about one hundred and fifty feet thick, and protrudes immediately from beneath the ledge. Its disintegration forms a most tenacious clay soil, on which flow the springs and brooks which so abundantly water the plain beneath the ledge. This formation outcrops through the entire length of the county, from Calumet Mills on the east side of Lake Winnebago to Section 32 in the town of Oakfield, traversing the county in a northeast and southwest direction. The soil from this formation forms the most valuable grazing land in the county; The shales, which form a part of this formation, bear such resemblance to the shales of the coal fields that there was some boring for coal in and beneath it. There never has been any native mineral coal found in any formation as old as this. The carboniferous formations are much more recent than the Silurian series which form the surface rock 'of the county.

Upper Silurian Series. - This formation rests upon the Cincinnati clays, and is the most prominent and important rock formation in the county. It forms a bold ridge throughout the length of the county, elevated about two hundred feet above the level of the valley beneath.

This formation is well exposed, the ledge traversing the towns of Calumet, Taycheedah, Empire, Eden, Byron and Oakfield, and the rock underlying the towns of Marshfield, Forest, Osceola, Ashford and Auburn. In the latter towns, it is not much exposed, being covered heavily with glacial drift, some places 300 feet deep. In this State, the Upper Silurian series consists of the Clinton iron ore and the Niagara group.

The Niagara Group, which forms the rock in the east part of the county, consists of the Mayville beds, the Byron beds and the lower and upper coral beds.

The Mayville Beds, being the lowest member of the group, resting immediately on the Cincinnati clay and forming the principal portion of the front of the ledge, are the best exposed rock in the county. East of the village of Taycheedah, at the old brewery, it is quarried extensively, and also at the Berry farm, Section 5, there is a good quarry. The rock is muc used for heavy foundations in Fond du Lac City and vicinity. This rock is, in general, rough, coarse, gray magnesian limestone, possessing the same general character throughout i entire area.

The best stone is almost a pure dolomite, consisting of about 52 per cent of carbonate ( lime and 43 per cent of carbonate of magnesia, and has been much used for the manufacture ( lime in the towns of Taycheedah and Oakfield. The Mayville beds are about sixty feet thiol The beautiful marble stonewhich forms the front of the Patty Hotel in Fond du Lac City, wi obtained from the rock in the town of Taycheedah.

Byron Beds. - Reposing upon the coarse-textured Mayville beds last described, lies somewhat thicker series of beds, bearing a strong contrast to them in color, texture, stratific; tion and general character. The ledges of the former are rough in aspect, and dull in colo these of the latter are usually smooth and white. The texture of the former is general! coarse, and often very uneven, that of the Byron beds is always fine, and sometimes so clo! and compact as to be lithographic in character. The color, when not white, is a light gray ( cream tint. The texture is either very fine, close and compact, or fine grained. The beddin is either thin, producing excellent flagging, or attaining more considerable dimensions, aig furnishes cutting and building stone, the very best in the State. The lower beds of this formi tion are thin bedded, while in the upper portion, the beds are thicker. The rock is called tl Byron, because its best development in Wisconsin is in the town of Byron, in this county. Tl purity of the rock admirably fits it for the manufacture of lime. It makes a strong and whi article, and is among the best in the United States. In selecting stone for this purpose, tl granular variety is generally to be preferred, from its superior purity, and because of its poroi nature it allows the carbonic gas that is discharged in the burning to escape readily, thus facil tating an easy and complete calcination. In the towns of Oakfield and Byron, kilns have bee established that manufacture an excellent lime, some of which is shipped to the Chicago markel being almost a pure dolomite, consisting of 54J per cent of carbonate of lime and 44J per cei of carbonate of magnesia, it makes a very strong cement. The greatest observed thickness > the Byron beds is about 110 feet. It outcrops in the towns of Oakfield, Byron, Eden, Empir Taycheedaih and Marshfield. The thicker beds furnish an excellent building stone, either roug dressed for ordinary masonry, or cut for the finer classes of work. In some instances a color i fine as statuary marble may be obtained.

Lower Coral Beds. - Next in order of succession comes the lower coral beds. The roc of this formation is a rough, heavy-bedded dolomite or magnesian limestone, not unlike tl Mayville beds. The layers are something very massive, ten to twelve feet intervening betwet distinct bedding joints. In texture the rock is coarse, crystalline, granular and usually rath soft, which gives the weathered outlines a very rough, craggy, pitted exterior. The prevailir color is gray, verging toward white and yellow. Much of the rock is nearly pure dolomite wc fitted to the manufacture of lime ; but, like the Mayville beds, it requires much diseriminatic in selecting the best for~ that purpose. The lower coral beds are about fifty feet thick.

Upper Coral Beds. - This rock occupies the highest horizon of any rock in the count; being the most recent of our rock system. It underlies the soil in the towns of Aubur Osceola, the east half of Ashford and east half or Forest. It is rather a thin-bedded dolomit generally of a bufi" color, but in its unweathered condition often gray. It is usually fine graine compact and hard. It shows a tendency to split into irregular, rudely, lenticular fiakes. Tl stone is of little value for construction or for lime. Some layers make a tolerable flag. 1 Sections 2 and 11 in the town of Ashford, the North- Western Union Pacific Road cu through it. There is also a quarry opened in it at the village of Elmore, in the same town, : Section 15, which exhibits a very heavy-bedded rock. The thickness of this formation ms be estimated at fifty feet.

The Soil. - The latest geological formation is the soil." This is produced by the disintegr tion of the drift and of the rock, where it approaches the surface. In Fond du Lac Count

the sandstone comes to the surface, it forms small patches of sandy soil, remarkable for its warmth and fertility. The limestone gives the soil a loamy character observed on the higher prairies, where that rock approaches the surface. There is a deep and exhaustless red clay to be found in the timber land. As a whole, the soil of the county is not surpassed by any in Wisconsin for fertility. The soil of the marshes is a deep, black, vegetable mold.

Physical Features

Fond du Lac County, lying as it does on the dividing line between the immense forests of hardwood and pine which extend northward to Lake Superior, and the vast expanse of prairie that stretches away to the west and southwest until it meets the Rocky Mountains, happily unites within its own territory the principal characteristics and resources peculiar to both these districts. While in the north and east it enters those hardwood forests which have added somuch to the prosperity and success of the manufacturing interests of Wisconsin, in the south and west it reaches out and embraces a portion of those prairies of inexhaustible agricultural resources, which are the pride of the Great Central West.

The general surface appearance of Fond du Lac County is attractive, being generally undulating enough to afford good draining, without being hilly, presenting a pleasing variety of groves of valuable timber and light openings, interspersed with stretches of prairie, marsh and meadow lands, beautifully undulated with gentle ascents and declivities, which swell away in the distance, forming many truly charming landscapes. But little, if any, is so uneven or hilly as to render it undesirable for agricultural purposes, and a large portion of the flat, marshy land which was originally considered worthless, has, at a trifling expense, been transformed into valuable meadow ; while there are some 3,000 acres of peat marsh, having an inexhaustible supply of peat of a good quality, varying from six to twenty feet in depth, which may, in the not distant future, become a source of wealth to its owners. The most notable of the physical features of the county are its lakes, rivers, creeks, springs, " the ledge," and marshes.

Winnebago Lake, the largest body of fresh water wholly within a single State of the Union, is the most striking physical feature of Fond du Lac County. It has an elevation above Lake Michigan of 162 feet ; above the ocean of 751 feet. It is about thirty miles in length, north and south ; eight to fifteen miles in width, east and west. " It reclines its head in Fond du Lac County - the city lying as its crown." The number of sections of land covered by its waters within the limits of the county are about thirty-four. Were the lake to be drained, the land reclaimed within the county would lie in Townships 15 and 16 north, of Range 17 east, and in Townships 16 and 17 north, of Range 18 east. The northern boundary of the county crosses the lake from east to west as follows : From the southwest corner of Calumet County extending west on the south line of the county to a point in the lake " in the range line between Ranges 17 and 18 east ; thence south on said range line to the range of the township line between Townships 16 and 17 north;" thence west to a point where the north line of the county of Fond du Lac leaves the lake. So much of the lake as lies south and east of these lines is within the county of Fond du Lac.

It is a matter of record that one imaginative person named J. E. Tuttle, of Fond du Lac, doubtless believing in some awful convulsion that would make the dry land appear where now is only water, and having faith that when the dry land should appear. Uncle Sam would at once send out surveyors and run the proper lines, did, on July 11, 1861, mortgage to Richard H. Tallman, of Ogle County, 111., to secure the payment of $5,000, the east half of Section 28 and the southwest quarter and northeast quarter of Section 27, in Township 17 north, of Range 18 east, all in Fond du Lac County ! When that mortgage is foreclosed, the purchaser will doubtless discover that railway stocks are not the only things that are "watered" - that real-estate mortgages are liable to the same manipulations, in the hands of sharpers.

In earlier years, the quantities of fish, mostly suckers, bull-pouts, catfish and sturgeon, taken from Winnebago Lake would seem incredible at the present day, although these fish are still abundant in the spring. Pike, pickerel and bass are almost as abundant now as ever, but

-are not taken in such quantities as the other varieties. In 1859, fish sold in the city of Fond du Lac for 10 cents per bushel, and suckers and bull-pouts were sold for 25 cents per sleigh load to the farmers who fed their swine upon this eminent brain food. At that time, all the streams flowing into the lake were crowded with fish in a manner that will never be witnessed again.

Lake Winnebago, being for the most part comparatively shallow, is not very cold in summer, and freezes early and to a great depth in winter. It is not much more than 120 feet in 'depth in its deepest part, and the south end will not average over fifteen feet in depth.

It has no first-class harbors in Fond du Lac County, the only ones in use being at Pipe T^illage and the city of Fond du Lac. A moderate expenditure of Government money at either of i;hese places would render them much more safe, and good enough for all the commerce done on the lake. They were nearly impassible during the summer of 1879, as. the water in the lake was lower than at any period since 1848, when the dam at Neenah was erected, raising the water in the whole lake, and in all the streams emptying into it. A mention of Island Park, or Garlic Island, as it was called for years on account of the abundance of leeks or wild onions found upon it, may properly be made in connection with this article, although it is situated beyond the boundaries of Fond du Lac County. It is a high, dry, splendidly wooded island, nearly twentyfive miles from the city of Fond du Lac, surrounded by deep water and fine fishing grounds. It is owned by a company of individuals living in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, by whom it has been 'beautified by the erection of several large summer-houses and clearing away all weeds and underbrush. It^is the resort during the summer months of numbers of pleasure seekers, mostly from Fond du Lac and Oshkosh.

Other Lakes. - There are about twenty small lakes and numerous ponds wholly within the county of Fond du Lac, with Rush and Winnebago Lakes bordering it on the north. The most beautiful of all these lakes is De l^eveu, situated in a valley entirely surrounded by forests, about three miles from the city of Fond du Lac. On the map it will be found in Sections 30 and 31. On all sides are bold shores, and its waters are deep, clear and cold. It is cool in and does not freeze over until late at winter, owing to the numerous springs on its shores and in its bed. It has several large summer cottages, numerous fine boats, and, in the -summer, either shore is well lined with the white tents of campers. It abounds in pickerel, pike and rock, black, green and strawberry bass, which are caught liberally by the pleasure seekers. Pickerel weighing thirty pounds have been caught in this lake. As a ducking and -excellent fishing place. Long Lake, in Sections 13, 24 and 25, of the town of Osceola, is of the most importance, although Duck Lake, in the town of Ashford, Muliet Lake, in the town of Forest, and Lake Fifteen, in the town of Auburn, are famous.

Rivers. - Fond du Lac County might well and properly be called the birthplace of rivers, for it has the honor of being the source of more rivers and creeks than any other in Wisconsin - perhaps in the Union. And what may be considered still more remarkable, these streams actually flow in four contrary directions - east, west, north and south. All of these streams have their sources in springs or small spring lakes, and were, therefore, in an early day, abundantly stocked with excellent fish. In fact, the stories told by the early settlers of the quantities of suckers, mullet and red-horse taken from them seem almost incredible, although they are well supported as true.

Of the seven rivers having their source in Fond du Lac County, only two, the East and West Branches of the Fond du Lac River, belong wholly to the county. Of these, the West Branch is the larger. It has three principal sources - one on Section 14, town of Metomen ; -one on Section 14, town of Ripon, and the other on Section 7, town of Rosendale. It is nowhere a navigable stream. It is dammed in the town of Eldorado, where it turns during a portion of the year the Scribner flouring-mill, and in the town of Fond du Lac, where it turns the John C. Bishop mill. It unites with the East Branch in the city of Fond du Lac, a half-mile from where it empties into Lake Winnebago.

The East Branch of the Fond du Lac River has its principal source in Sections 5 and 13, in the town of Oakfield, where it is called Seven Mile Creek. Its other sources are on Sections

20, in Byron (the camp-ground spring), and 16, in Lamartine. Near the village of Oakfield,. this stream turns two flouring-mills during portions of the year, and a flouring-mill on Section- 27, town of Fond du Lac. After its confluence with the West Branch in the city of Fond du Lac, the stream is navigable for a short distance, but is mostly used for rafting logs. A stationary bridge at Scott street prevents boats from passing farther up. There was once talk of compelling the city to make swing bridges over the Fond du Lac River as far as it had been declared navigable water, but nothing definite was ever done.

Rock River, which is only a small stream in Fond du Lac County, rises in large springs in Sections 3, 16 and 19, in the town of Alto, and in Section 25, in the town of Metomen. The stream flows east past Waupun, where there is a small water-power. Although comparatively an unimportant stream in this county, Rock River is one of the important streams of the Statesof Wisconsin and Illinois.

Grand River has its source in springs in Sections 16 and 19, in the town of Metomen, and in Section 19, in the town of Alto. It flows westward through Green Lake County into the- Fox River, turning four mills in the town of Metomen.

Milwaukee River has three branches - East, Middle and West - in Fond du Lac County. The head-waters of the East Branch are discharged from Long Lake, in Sections 13 and 14, town of Osceola. The Middle Branch has its source in Section 23, Osceola, and the West Branch mostly in Round Lake, in Section 27, Osceola, although large feeders come from springs in Sections 25, in Byron, and 12 and 17, Eden.

There are several mills turned in these towns by the three branches of the Milwaukee River, which flows south into Lake Michigan at Milwaukee.

Sheboygan River takes its rise mostly in the eastern portion of the town of Empire, and in Section 6, town of Osceola. It flows eastward into Lake Michigan at the city of Sheboygan,

Manitowoc River rises in the towns of Calumet and Forest.- It is a favorite ducking and fishing stream, being deep and sluggish for the most part, and abounding in wild rice. It flows northeast into Lake Michigan at Manitowoc.

De Neveu Creek has its principal sources in Twin Lakes, in Sections 9 and 16, in the town of Eden, and in De Neveu Lake, in the town of Empire. Being the outlet of De Neveu Lake, on G. De Neveu's land, it was first called De Neveu's Creek, which soon grew into its present name. It is a small stream, very swift, and subject to damaging freshets. In the spring, it is full of fish which run up from Lake Winnebago, into which it flows, in the town of Fond du Lac. One of the branches turns the Empire Woolen Mills, and the old Conklin flouring-mill, east of the city of Fond du Lac.

Silver Creek has its source in a spring which is the largest in Fond du Lac County, situated on the farm of Almon Osborn, in Section 2, in the town of Metomen, and in another very large spring on M. Hargraves' farm on Section 1, in the town of Metomen. It flows to the westward through the city of Ripon, where it makes a rapid descent and furnishes a strong, though limited, water-power, into Green Lake. It turns, during a large portion of the year Dellinger's and Bateman's flouring-mills, in the city of Ripon, and Strong's and Crawford'smills, in the town of Ripon.

The town of Metomen has the honor of being the source of Rock and Grand Rivers and Silver Creek. Rock River waters flow to the Gulf of Mexico, while the waters of the others, althcmgh flowing at first in difierent directions, empty in Lake Michigan through Green Bay. A few miles distant may be found the sources of the Fond du Lac and Milwaukee Rivers, which flow in exactly opposite directions, but finally reach Lake Michigan. The large number of springs in Fond du Lac County show precisely where the "water-shed" is located.

Springs. - The county of Fond du Lac, especially in the town of Metomen, and those in which the "Ledge" is situated, is remarkable for the number and size of its springs, and the coolness, deliciousness and purity of their waters. The most careful estimates place the number of springs in the county at 2,000, the most of which flow from the Ledge. The largest is on the farm of Almon Osborn, in Section 2, in the town of Metomen, it being the principal source of Silver Creek. In Section 1, in the town of Metomen, M. Hargraves is the owner of a Yery large spring. The springs in Sections 16 and 19, in the town of Metomen, make the Grand River, and in Sections 3, 16 and 19, of Alto, make the Rock River. In Section 20, in the town of Byron, at the camp-grounds, is a very large spring, and also on Fred M. Phelps' farm, in Section 28, in the town of Empire, and on the farm of David Giddings, in the same town. G. De Neveu has a large spring near De Neveu Lake. This lake is fed by four springs of considerable size, one of great purity and beauty being on John S. McDonald's land on the east shore of the lake, not more than a dozen feet from the water's edge, nor more than twenty inches above its surface. In Section 5 of the town of Eden, Section 10 of Metomen, Section 4 of Osceola, and Sections 16 and 13 of Byron, are large springs which never run dry or diminish their flow. The Ledge road and the Green Bay and Taycheedah plank road are crossed by water from hundreds of clear, cold springs, which, in some localities, occur every two or three yards.

The Ledge. - The Ledge, as it is popularly known, is an abrupt outcropping of the limestone crust, which extends from the northeast to the southwest across the county, through the towns of Calumet, Taycheedah, Empire, Byron and Oakfield. It consists of the elevated edge of a thick layer of limestone, well broken and thoroughly marked by the erosion of the glacial period, and varies from a small mound to a bold, perpendicular cliff two hundred feet in height. It is remarkable for the thousands of clear, cold springs which gush from its cleft face from base to summit. Large quantities of lime are burned from its loosened fragments, and stone for buildings, cellars and bridges is obtained in any amount desired. In some localities, this Ledge is shattered, and in others it is cracked into mighty blocks of stone, whose perpendicular seams and rents are wide enough for the passage of a person or a horse. At a place called Darlings' Gap, in the town of Oakfield, these features are particularly noticeable, many acres of land being strewn with block^ of stone which reach to the tops of the tallest trees, and frequently above them, and which in some instances stand out boldly and alone like the pyramids, as though dropped from the clouds. That portion of the Ledge which is not thus broken into fragments, is divided by innumerable but regular seams and pierced by fissures of large size. These seams and fissures, and the caves and hollows which abound along its entire length, were, when the country was first settled, the homes of foxes, lynxes, bears, wild-cats and gray wolves, as well as squirrels and snakes without number; and such of these animals as are left in the country are still to be found in the Ledge where they are safe from all assaults. The fat, sluggish snakes known as the "prairie bulls," which infested the tall grass of the prairies before disturbed by the settlers in great numbers, still abound in the recesses of the Ledge..

Back of Allen's Mill, in the town of Taycheedah, iron ore was found about the year 1870 in paying quantities, but nothing was done with the discovery, owing to a lack of means. The iron is of the same quality as that found in large quantities at Iron Ridge, in Dodge County.

The Ledge is covered with butternut, hickory, basswood, three kinds of oak, a few beech trees, and in Oakfield with red cedar. It is a remarkable and interesting physical feature, both to the geologist, naturalist and pleasure seeker.

"The ledge, or hilly and elevated land east of the plain," says a writer in 1846, "is mostly owned by some of the first men in Wisconsin Territory, who have here some society of their own, although located at quite respectable distances apart. Among them are the Hon. N. P. Tallmadge, Gov. Doty, Henry Conklin, Mons. La Borde, a French gentleman, and several others. The hill rises by a gentle slope, about 100 feet, and extends north and south some twenty miles. All along its face are found, at short intervals, springs of the finest water, from which the brooks give abundant water to the plains below. On the same ground, too, are as handsome building sites as can be found anywhere, rivaling the best on the Hudson River, and commanding views extending over the country for thirty miles around, and the waters of the beautiful lake (Winnebago) as far as the eye can reach. Here are also plenty of splendid old oaks thick enough to grace a gentleman's park or lawn in a style that would require a lifetime to reach in the East. At the foot of the hill are some of the most beautiful ponds that I ever saw.

the water almost as transparent as the air itself, and literally alive with as fine pickerel, trout and -other fish, as ever an epicure laid his eyes on. I walked an entire forenoon, and rode most of the afternoon over these charming grounds, and as I gazed at times, while standing in the shade of majestic oaks, at the luxuriant grass, more than two feet high everywhere, the fine cultivated fields, and the tiny lakes on the farms of Mons. La Borde and John Thompson, Esq., of Poughkeepsie, it seemed as if a fairy land had actually been reached.

" At the east of the lands of the gentlemen named above, on the main road to Sheboygan, are some half-dozen more Dutchess County farmers, located on farms of choicest quality, proving what has often been proved before, that where farmers from Dutchess County settle, you can always depend upon finding a first-rate country. On the premises of Mr. Conklin is a large and well-cultivated garden, in which I saw onions that in size and quality would bring tears to the eyes of a Weathersfield Yankee, and his other vegetables came almost up to the -extravagant Western stories we see in the papers now and then. Among other things, I was shown a mullein eight and one-half feet high."

Marshes. - In the popular sense of the term, the county contains but very few marshes. A marsh is really composed of low, wet land which is unfit for cultivation or use. Fond du Lac County contains no such, for all are used either as pastures or meadows. They consist of fiat lands which are overflowed in spring and fall, but are generally dry enough in summer to admit being worked upon with mowing machines, hay-tedders and wagons. The annual overflow adds greatly to the productiveness of these marshes, and the hay crops taken from some of them are truly astonishing. Two crops a, year are cut when the fall rains do not begin too The usual mode of procedure is to stack the hay in dry weather, on the highest portions of the marsh, and haul it oif on the ice in winter. For pasturing horses and cattle, the hay marshes of Fond du Lac County are unsurpassed. But they are not usually adapted to the keeping of sheep, being too damp and cold, nor for dairy purposes, as the grass does not produce as rich or abundant flow of milk as tame grasses. For horses and young stock, they are of .peculiar value, as the latter grow sleek and thrifty upon it, while horses troubled with heaves or pulmonary diseases, are generally cured by grazing one or two seasons upon marsh grass.

These marshes are to be found in every town in the county, but they are usually small and more than one-half of them have been reclaimed by the drain and plow. The largest one -of them is called the " Eldorado Marsh," and is mostly within the town of Eldorado. It is cut in twain by the West Branch of the Fond du Lac River, and is all in use as pasture or meadow land, mostly the latter. The next in size is the Lamartine Peat Marsh, situated in the town of Lamartine. It takes its name from large quantities of peat which underlie its surface. A was fornied in Fond du Lac for the manufacture - ^that is, digging and drying - of peat, but the enterprise was long since abandoned.

As the country grows older, these marshes are more and more encroached upon by the plow and seeder, and those which have been drained,as all will ultimately be, are very productive.