Iowa County, Wisconsin - Chapter 18, 1881 (part 7 of 17)

These metals are considered together because they are found occurring together in the same region and under exactly the same circumstances, being even obtained from the same openings. Lead has for many years been the most important metallic production of Wisconsin, and, together with zinc, whose ores have been utilized only since i860, still holds this prominent position, although the production is not so great as formerly. Small quantities of lead and zinc ores have been found in the crystalline (.\rchaean) rocks of the northern part of the state and in the copperhearing rocks of the Lake Superior country, but there are no indications at present that these regions will ever produce in quantity. All of the lead and zinc obtained in Wisconsin comes then from that portion of the southwestern ]iart of the state which lies west of Sugar river and south of the nearly east and west ridge that forms the southern side of the valley of the Wisconsin, from the head of Sugar river westward. This district is commonly known in Wisconsin as the " Lead Region," and forms the larger part of the " Lead Region of the Upper Mississippi," which includes also smaller portions of Iowa and Illinois.

What European first became acquainted with the deposits of lead in the upper portion of valley of the Mississippi is a matter of some doubt. Charlevoix (Histoire de la Nouvelle France, III, 397, 398.) attributes the discovery to Nicolas Perrot, about 1692; and states that in r;;! the deposits still bore Perrot's name. Perrot himself, however, in the only one of his writings that remains, makes no mention of the matter. The itinerary of Le Sueur's voyage up the Mississippi, 1700-1 701, given in La Harpe's History of Louisiana, which was written early in the i8th century, shows that the former found lead on the banks of the Mississippi, not far from the present southern boundary of Wisconsin, August 25, 1700. Captain Johathan Carver, 1766, found lead in abundance at the Blue Mounds, and found the Indians in all the country around in possession of masses of galena, which they had obtained as " lloat mineral," and which they were incapable of putting to any use. There is no evidence of any one mining before Julien Dubuque, who, 1788 to 1809, mined in the vicinity of the flourishing city which now bears his name. After his death in 1809 nothing more was done until 1S21, when the attention of American citizens was first drawn to the rich lead deposits of this region. By 1827, the mining had become quite general and has continued to the 'present time, the maximum production having been reached, however, between the years 1845 and 1847.

The following table, prepared by the late Moses Strong, shows the mineral production of southwestern Wisconsin for the years i860 to 1873 in pounds:

Blende

Until within the last decade the lead mines of the Mississippi valley, including now both the " Upper " and the " Lower " regions - the latter one of which lies wholly within the limits of the state of Missouri - have far eclipsed the rest of the United States in the production of lead, the district being in fact one of the most important of the lead districts in the world. Of late years, however, these mines are far surpassed in production by the " silver-lead " mines of Utah and other Rocky Mountain regions, which, though worked especially for their silver, produce incidentally a very large amount of lead. Nevertheless, the mines of the Mississippi valley will long continue to be a very important source of this metal. The lead ore of the Wisconsin lead region is of one kind only, the sulphide known d^% galena, or galeniU. This ore, when free from mechanically mingled impurities, contains 86.6 per cent, of lead, the balance being sulphur. Small quantities of other lead ores are occasionally found in the uppermost portions of the deposits, having been produced by the oxidizing influence of the atmosphere. The chief one of these oxidation products is the earthy carbonate known as ccrtissite. Galena almost always contains some silver, commonly enough to pay for its extraction. The Wisconsin galenas, however, are unusually free from silver, of which they contain only the merest trace.

The zinc ores are of two kinds, the most abundant being the ferruginous sulphide, or the "black-jack " of the miners. The pure sulphide, sphalerite, contains 67 per cent, of zinc, but the iron-bearing variety, known minerallogically as tnarma/ite, generally contains 10 per cent, or more of iron. A ferruginous variety of the carbonate, sntilksonile, also occurs in abundance, and is known to the miners as "dry-bone," the name being suggested by the peculiar structure of the ore.

Both lead and zinc ores occur in limited deposits in a series of limestone beds belonging to the Lower Silurian series. The lead region is underlaid by a nearly horizontal series of strata, with an aggregate thickness of 2,000 feet, which lie upon an irregular surface of ancient crystalline rocks (gneiss, granite, etc.). The names and order of succession of the several strata are indicated in the following scheme, the last named being the lowest in the series :

The first two of these layers, in the Wisconsin part of the lead region, are met with only in a few isolated peaks and ridges. The prevailing surface rock is the Galena limestone, through which, however, the numerous streams cut in deep and narrow valleys which not unfrequently are carved all the way into the Lower Magnesian.

The lead and zinc ores are entirely confined to the Galena, Blue and Buff limestones, an aggregate vertical thickness of some 350 to 375 feet. The upper and lower strata of the series are entirely barren. Zinc and lead ores are found in the same kind of deposits, and often together; by far the larger part of the zinc ores, however, come from the Blue and Buff limestones, and the lowest layers of the Galena, whilst the lead ores, though obtained throughout the whole thickness of the mining ground, are especially abundant in the middle and upper layers of the Galena beds.

The ore deposits are of two general kinds, which may be distinguished as vertical crevices and flat crevices, the former being much the most common. The simplest form of the vertical crevice is a narrow crack in the rock, having a width of a few inches, an extension laterally from a few yards to several hundred feet, and a vertical height of 20 to 40 feet, thinning out to nothing in all directions, and filled from side to side with highly crj'stalline, brilliant, large-surfaced galena, which has no accompaiiying metallic mineral, or gangue matter. Occasionally the vertical extension exceeds a hundred feet, and sometimes a number of these sheets are close together and can be mined as one. Much more commonly the vertical crevice shows irregular expansions, which are sometimes large caves, or openings in certain layers, the crevice between retaining its normal character, while in other cases the expansion affects the whole crevice, occasionally widening it throughout into one large opening. These openings are rarely entirely filled, and commonly contain a loose, disintegrated rock, in which the galena lies loose in large masses, though often adhering to the sides of the cavity in large stalactites, or in cubical crystals. The vertical crevices show a very distinct arrangement parallel with one another, there being two systems, which roughly trend east and west, and north and south. The east and west crevices are far the most abundant and most productive of ore. The vertical crevices are confined nearly altogether to the upper and middle jwrtions of the Galena, and are not productive of zinc ores. They are evidently merely the parallel joint cracks which affect every great rock formation, filled by chemical action with the lead ore. The crevices with openings have evidently been enlarged by the solvent power of atmospheric water carrying carbonic acid, and from the way in which the ore occurs loose in the cavities, it is evident that this solving action has often been subsequent to the first deposition of lead ore in the crevice.

The " flat crevices," " flat sheets," and " flat openings," are analogous to the deposits just described, but have, as indicated by the names, a horizontal position, being characteristic of certain layers, which have evidently been more susceptible to chemical action than others, the dissolving waters having, moreover, been directed along them by less pervious layers above and below. The flat openings differ from the vertical crevices also, in having associated with the

Mikekal Kksofrces

much of either the black-jack or ilry-bone zinc ores, or both, the galena not unfrequently being entirely wanting. Cleavable calcite also accompanies the ores in these openings in large quantities, and the same is true of the sulphide of iron, which is the variety known as marcasite. These materials have sometimes a symmetrical arrangement on the bottom and top of the opening, the central portion being empty. The flat openings characterize the Blue and ISuff and lower Galena beds, and from them nearly all the zinc ore is obtained.

It is not possible, in the limits of this short papei, even to mention the various mining districts. It may merely be said that the amount of galena raised from single crevices has often been several hundred thousand, or even over a million pounds, and that one of the principal mining districts is in the vicinity of Mineral Point, where there are two furnaces constantly engaged in smelting. Between the years 1862 and 1873, t^hese two establishments have produced 23,903,260 pounds of metallic lead, or an average of 1,991,938 pounds, the maximum being, in 1869, 2,532,710 pounds, the minimum, in 1873, 1,518,888 pounds.

The zinc ores were formerly rejected as useless, and have only been utilized since i86o. An attempt to smelt them at Mineral Point was not successful, because the amount needed of fuel and clay, both of which have to come from a distance, exceeding even the amount of ore used, caused a very heavy expense for transportation. The ores are therefore now taken altogether to LaSalle, Illinois, where they meet the fuel and clay, and the industry at. that place has become a flourishing one. The amount of zinc ore in the Wisconsin lead region is, beyond doubt, very great, and will be a source of wealth for a long time to come.

Since the ores of zinc and lead in this region are confined to such a small thickness of strata greatly eroded by the atmospheric waters, the entire thickness having frequently been removed, it becomes a matter of great importance to know how much of the mining ground remains at every pdint throughout the district. The very excellent topographico-geological maps of the region, made by Mr. Moses Strong, and since published by the State in the Report of the Geological Survey, make this knowledge accessible to all.

Iron

Iron mining in Wisconsin is yet in its infancy, although some important deposits are producing a considerable quantity of ore. A numl)er of blast furnaces have sprung up in the eastern part of the state, but these smelt Michigan ores almost entirely. Much remains yet to be done in the way of exploration, for the most ijromising iron fields are in the heavily timbered and unsettled regions of the north part of the state, and are as yet imperfectly known. It appears probable, however, that iron ores will, in the near future, be the most important mineral production of Wisconsin. The several ores will be noted in the order of their present importance.

The iron in these ores exists as an anhydrous sesquioxide, which is, however, in an earthy condition, and entirely without the brilliant metallic luster that characterizes the specular hematites. Pure hematite contains seventy per cent, of metallic iron, but the red hematites, as mined, are always so largely mingled with mechanical impurities that they rarely contain more than fifty per cent. The most important red hematite mined in Wisconsin is that known as the Clinton iron ore, the name coming from the formation in which the ore occurs. This formation is a member of the Upper Silurian series, and is named from a locality in Oneida county. New York, where it was first recognized. Associated with its rocks, which are limestones and shales, is constantly found a peculiar red hematite, which is so persistent in its characters, both physical and and chemical, that one familiar with it from any one locality can hardly fail to recognize it when coming from others. The iron produced from it is always "cold-short," on account of the large content of phosphorus; but, mingled with siliceous ores free from phosphorus, it yields always a most excellent foundry iron. It is mined at numerous points from New York to Tennessee, and at some points reaches a very great total thickness. In Wisconsin the Clinton rocks merge into the great Niagara limestone series of the eastern part of the state, but at the bottom of the series, in a few places, the Clinton ore is found immediately overlying the Cincinnati shales. The most important locality is that known as Iron Ridge, on sections twelve and thirteen in the town of Hubbard, in Dodge county. Here a north-and-south ledge of Niagara limestone overlooks lower land to the west. Underneath, at the foot of the ridge, is the ore bed, fifteen to eighteen feet in thickness, consisting of horizontally bedded ore, in layers three to fourteen inches thick. The ore has a concretionary structure, being composed of lenticular grains, one twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, but the top layer is without this structure, having a dark purplish color, and in places a slight metallic appearance. Much of the lower ore is somewhat hydrated. Three quarters of a mile north of Iron Ridge, at Mayville, there is a total thickness of as much as forty feet. According to Mr. E. T. Sweet, the percentages of the several constituents of the Iron Ridge ore are as follows: iron peroxide, 66.38; carbonate of lime, 10.42; carbonate of magnesia, 2.79; silica, 4.72; alumina, 5.54; manganese oxide, 0.44; sulphur, 0.23 ; phosphoric acid, 0.73; water, 8.75 = 100: metallic iron, 46.66.

Two small charcoal furnaces at Mayville and Iron Ridge smelt a considerable quantity of these ores alone, producing an iron very rich in phosphorus. An analysis of the Mayville pig iron, also by Mr. Sweet, shows the following composition: iron, 95.784 per cent; phosphorus, 1.675 - carbon, 0.849; silicon, o.ioS = 100.286. The average furnace yield of the ore is fortyfive per cent. By far the larger part of the ore, however, is sent away to mingle with otlier ores. It goes to Chicago, Joliet and Springfield, 111., St. Louis, Mo., Wyandotte and Jackson, Mich., and Appleton, Green Bay and Milwaukee, Wis. In 1872, the Iron Ridge mines yielded 82,371 tons. The Clinton ore is found at other places farther north along the outcrop of the base of the Niagara formation in Wisconsin, but no one of these appears to promise any great quantity of good ore. Red hematite is found at numerous places in Wisconsin, highly charging certain layers, of the Potsdam sandstone series, the lowest one of the horizontal Wisconsin formations. In the eastern part of the town of Westfield, Sauk county, the iron ore excludes the sandstone, forming an excellent ore. No developments have been made in this district, so that the size of the deix)sit is not definitely known.

These ores contain their iron as the hydrated, or brown, sesquioxide, which, when pure, has about sixty per cent, of the metal; the ordinary brown hematites, however, seldom contain over forty per cent. Bog iron ore, a porous brown hematite that forms by deposition from tlie water of bogs, occurs somewhat widely scattered underneath the large marshes of Portage, Wood and Juneau counties. Very excellent bog ore, containing nearly 50 per cent, of iron, is found near Necedah, Juneau county, and near Grand Rapids, Wood county, but the amount obtainable is not definitely known. The Necedah ore contarns: silica, 8.52 ; alumina, 3.77; iron peroxide, 71.40; manganese oxide, 0.27; lime, 0.58; magnesia, trace; phosphoric acid, o.2r; sulphur, 0.02; organic matter, 1.62; water, 13.46=99.85 , metallic iron, 49.98 - according to Mr. E. T. Sweet's analysis. An ore from section 34, twp. 23, range 6 east, Wood county, yielded, to Mr. Oliver Matthews, silica, 4.81 ; alumina, i.oo; iron peroxide, 73.23 ; lime, o.ii, magnesia, 0.25; sulphuric acid, 0.07 ; phosphoric acid, o. 10 ; organic matter, 5. 88; water,

Brown hematite, mingled with more or less red ore, occurs also in some quantity filling cracks and irregular cavities in certain portions of the Potsdam series in northwestern Sauk county and the adjoining portion of Richland. A small charcoal furnace has been in operation on this ore at Ironton, Sauk county, for a number of years, and recently another one has been erected at in the same district.

These are taken together here, because their geological occurrence is the same, the two ores occurring not only in the same group of rocks, but even intimately mingled with one another. These ores are not now produced in Wisconsin ; but it is quite probable that they may before many years become its principal mineral production. In magnetic iron ore, the iron is in the shape of the mineral mag;netite, an oxide of iron containing 72 4 per cent of iron when pure, and this is the highest percentage of iron that any ore can ever have. Specular hematite is the same as red hematite, but is crystalline, has a bright, metallic luster, and a considerable hardness. As mined the richest magnetic and specular ores rarely run over 65 per cent., while in most regions where they are mined they commonly do not reach 50 per cent. The amount of rich ores of this kind in the northern peninsula of Michigan is so great, however, that an ore with less than 50 per cent, finds no sale; and the same must be true in the adjoining states. So largely does this matter of richness affect the value of an ore, that an owner of a mine of 45 per cent. " hard " ore in Wisconsin would find it cheaper to import and smelt Michigan 65 per cent, ore, than to smelt his own, even if his furnace and mine were side by side.

The specular and magnetic ores of Wisconsin occur in two districts - the Penokee iron district, ten to twenty miles south of Lake Superior, in Bayfield, Ashland and Lincoln counties, and the Menomonee iron district, near the head waters of the Menomonee river, in township 40, ranges 17 and 18 east, Oconto county. Specular iron in veins and nests is found in small quantities with the quartz rocks of the Baraboo valley, Sauk county, and Necedah, Juneau county; and very large quantities of a peculiar quartz-schist, charged with more or less of the magnetic and specular iron oxides, occur in the vicinity of Black River Falls, Jackson county ; but in none of these places is there any promise of the existence of valuable ore.

In the Penokee and Menomonee regions, the iron ores occur in a series of slaty and quartzose rocks known to geologists as the Haronian series. The rocks of these districts are really the extensions westward of a great rock series, which in the northern Michigan peninsula contains the rich iron ores that have made that region so famous. In position, this rock series may be likened to a great elongated parabola, the head of which is in the Marquette iron district and the two ends in the Penokee and Menomonee regions of Wisconsin. In all of its extent, this rock series holds great beds of lean magnetic and specular ores. These contain large quantities of quartz, which, from its great hardness, renders them very resistant to the action of atmospheric erosion. .\s a result, these lean ores are found forming high and hold ridges. Sucii ridges of lean ores have deceived many explorers, and not a few geologists. In the same rock series, for the most part occupying portions of a higher layer, are found, however, ores of extraordinary richness and purity, which, from their comparative softness, very rarely outcrop. The existence in quantity of these very rich ores in the Menomonee region has been definitely proven. One deposit, laid open during the Summer of 1877, shows a width of over 150 feet of first class specular ore ; and exceeding in size the greatest of the famous deposits of Michigan. In the Penokee region, however, though the indications are favorable, the existence of the richer ores is as yet an inference only. The Penokee range itself is a wonderful development of lean ore, which forms a continuous belt several hundred feet in width and over thirty miles in length. Occasionally portions of this belt are richer than the rest, and become almost merchantable ores. The probability is, however, that the rich ores of this region will be found in the lower country immediately north of the Penokee range, where the rocks are buried beneath heavy accumulations of drift material.

The only copper ore at present raised in Wisconsin is obtained near Mineral Point, in the lead region of the southwestern part of the state, where small quantities of c/iaUopyrtU,the yellow sulphide of copper and iron, are obtained from pockets and limited crevices in the Galena limestone. Copper pyrites is known to occur in this way throughout the lead region, but it does not appear that the quantity at any point is sufficient to warrant exploration.

Copper occurs also in the northernmost portions of Wisconsin, where it is found under altogether different circumstances. The great copper-bearing series of rocks of Keweenaw point and Isle Royale stretch southwestward into and entirely across the state of Wisconsin, in two parallel belts. One of these belts enters Wisconsin at the mouth of the Montreal river, and immediately leaving the shore of Lake Superior, crosses .A.shland and Bayfield counties, and then widening greatly, occupies a large area in Douglas, St. Croi.x, Barron and Chippewa counties. The other belt forms the backbone of the Bayfield peninsula, and crosses the northern part of Douglas county, forming a bold ridge, to the Minnesota line. The rocks of this great series appear to be for the most part of igneous origin, but they are distinctly bedded, and even interstratified with sandstone, shales, and coarse boulder-conglomerate, the whole series having generally a tilted position. In veins crossing the rock-beds, and scattered also promiscuously through the layers of both conglomerates and igneous rocks, pure metallic copper in fine flakes is often found. Mining on a small scale has been attempted at numbers of points where the rivers flowing northward into Lake Superior make gorges across the rock series, but at none of them has sufficient work been done to prove or disprove the existence of copper in paying quantity.

Small traces of gold have been detected by the writer in quartz from the crystalline rocks of Clark county, but there is no probability that any quantity of this metal will ever be found in the state. Traces of silver have also been found in certain layers of the copper series in Ashland county. Judging from the occurrence of silver in the same series not far to the east in Michigan, it seems not improbable that this metal may be found also in Wisconsin.

These consti':ute a very important resource in Wisconsin. Extending inland for many miles fiom the shores of Lakes Michigan and Superior are stratified beds of clay of lacustrine origin, having been deposited by the lakes when greatly e.xpanded beyond their present sizes. AM of these clays are characterized by the presence of a large amount of carbonate of lime. Along Lake Superior they have not yet been utilized, but all through the belt of country bordering Lake Michigan they are dug and burned, fully 50,000,000 bricks being made annually in this region. A large proportion of these bricks are white or cream-colored, and these are widely known under the name of "' Milwaukee brick," though by no means altogether made at Milwaukee. Others arc ordinary red brick. The difference between the light-colored and red bricks is ordinarily attributed to the greater amount of iron in the clay from wiiich the latter are burned, but it has been shown by Mr. E. T Sweet that the white bricks are burned from clay which often contains more iron than that from which the red bricks are made, but whicli also contains a very large amont of carbonate of lime. The following analyses show (i) the composition of the clay from which cream-colored brick are burned at Milwaukee, (2) the composition of a red-brick clay from near Madison, and (3) the composition of the unutilized clay from Ashland, Lake Superior. Nos. i and 2 are by Mr. E. T. Sweet, No. 3 by Professor W. W. Daniells :

At Milwaukee 24,000,000 cream-colored brick are made annually ; at Racine, 3,500,000 ; at Appleton and Menasha, 1,800,000 each ; at Neenah, 1,600,000; at Clifton, 1,700,000; at Waterloo, 1,600,000; and in sinaller quantities at Jefferson, Ft. Atkinson, Edgerton, Whitewater, Geneva, Ozaukee, Sheboygan Falls, Manitowoc, Kewaunee, and other places. In most cases the cream-colored bricks are made from a bright-red clay, although occasionally the clay is lightcolored. At Whitewater and other places tile and pottery are also made from this clay.

Although these lacustrine clays are much the most important in Wisconsin, excellent brick clays are also found in the interior of the state. In numbers of places along the Yahara valley, in Dane county, an excellent stratified clay occurs. At Madison this is burned to a red brick ; at Stoughton and Oregon to a fine cream-colored brick. At Platteville, J-ancaster, and other points in the southwestern part of the state, red bricks are made from clays found in the vicinity.

The word "kaolin*' is applied by geologists to a clay-like material which is used in making rhinaware in this country and in Europe. The word is of Cliinese origin, and is applied by the Chinese to the substance from which the famous porcelain of China is made. Its application to the European porcelain-^/(7V was made under the mistaken idea - one which has prevailed among scientists until very recently - that the Chinese material is the same as the European. This we now know to be an error, the Chinese and Japanese wares being both made altogether from a solid rock.

True kaolin, using the word in its European sense, is unlike other ordinary clays, in being the result of the disintegration of felspathic crystalline rocks "in place,'' that is without being removed from the place of its first formation. The base of kaolin is a mineral known as kaoliiiite, a compound of silica, alumina and water, which results from a change or decay of the felspar of felspar-bearing rocks. Felspar contains silica, alumina, and soda or potash, or both. By percolation through the rocks of surface water carrying carbonic acid, the potash and soda are removed and kaolinite results. Mingled with the kaolinite are, however, always the other ingredients of the rock, quartz, mica, etc., and also always some undecomposed, or only partly decomposed felspar. These foreign ingredients can all, however, be more or less perfectly removed by a system of levigation, when a pure white clay results, cotnposed almost wholly of the scales of the mineral kaolinite. Prepared in this way the kaolin has a high value as a refractory material, and for forming the base of fine porcelain wares.

The crystalline rocks, which, by decomposition, would produce a kaolin, are widely spread over the northern part of Wisconsin ; but over the most of the region occupied by them there is no sign of the existence of kaolin, the softened rock having apparently been removed by glacial action. In a belt of country, however, which extends from Grand Rapids on the Wisconsin, westward to Black river, in Jackson county, the drift is insignificant or entirely absent; the glacial forces have not acted, and the crystalline rocks are, or once were, overlaid by sandstone, along whose line of junction with the underlying formation numerous water-courses have existed, the result being an unusual amount of disintegration. Here we find, in the beds of the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, large exposures of crystalline rocks, which between the rivers are overlaid by sandstone. The crystalline rocks are in distinct layers, tilted at high angles, and in numerous places decomposed into a soft white kaolin. Inasmuch as these layers strike across the country m long, straight lines, patches of kaolin are found ranging themselves into similar lines. The kaolin patches are most abundant on the Wisconsin in the vicinity of the city of Grand Rapids, in Wood county. They vary greatly in size, one deposit even varying from a fraction of an inch to a number of feet in thickness. The kaolin varies, also, greatly in character, some ^being quite impure and easily fusible from a large content of iron oxide or from partial decomposition only,'while much of it is very pure and refractory. There is no doubt, however, that a large amount of kaolin exists in this region, and that by selection and levigation an excellent material may be obtained, which, by mingling with powdered quartz, may be made to yield a fire-brick of unusual refractoriness, and which may even be employed in making fine porcelain ware.

The following table gives the composition of the raw clay, the fine clay obtained from it by levigation, and the coarse residue from the same operation, the sample having been taken from the opening on the land of Mr. C. B. Garrison, section 5, town 22, range 6 east. Wood county ;

Residue

Certain layers of the Lower Magnesian limestone, as ai Ripon, and other points in the eastern part of the state, are known to produce a lime which has in some degree the hydraulic property, and the same is true of certain layers of the Blue limestone of the Trenton group, in the southwestern part of the state ; the most valuable material of this kind, however, that is as yet known to exist in Wisconsin, is found near Milwaukee, and has become very recently somewhat widely known as the " Milwaukee" cement-rock. This rock belongs to the Hamilton formation, and is found near the W'ashington street bridge, at Brown Deer, on the lake shore at Whitefish

Mikeral Resources

"bay, and at other points in the immediate vicinity of Milwaukee. The quantity attainable is large, and a very elaborate series of tests by D. J. Whittemore, chief engineer of the Milwaukee and St. Paul railroad, shows that the cement made from it exceeds all native and foreign cements in strength, except the famous English " Portland " cement. The following are three analyses of the rock from different points, and they show that it has a very constant composition :

Quick-lime is made from all of the great limestone formations of Wisconsin, but more is burnt from the Lower Magnesian and Niagara formations, than from the others. The Lower Magnesian yields a very strong mortar, but the lime burned from it is not very white. It is burned largely in the region about Madison, one of the largest quarries being on the south line of section ^^ of that town, where some 20,000 bushels are produced annually, in two kilns. The lime from this place has a considerable local reputation under the name of " Madison lime." The Trenton limestone is burned at a few points, but yields an inferior lime. The Galena is not very generally burned, but yields a better lime than the Trenton. In the region about Watertown and Whitewater, some 40,000 to 50,000 barrels are made annually from this formation.

The Niagara, however, is the great lime furnisher of the northwest. From its purity it is adapted to the making of a most admirable lime. It is burned on a large scale at numbers of points in the eastern part of the state, among which may be mentioned, Pellon's kilns, Pewaukee, where 12,000 barrels are made weekly and shipped to Chicago, Grand Haven, Des Moines, etc.; and Holick & Son's kilns, Racine, which yield 60,000 to 75,000 barrels annually. A total ot about 400,000 barrels is annually made from the Niagara formation in eastern Wisconsin.

The limestones of Wisconsin are rarely used as a flux, because of their prevalent magnesian character. The stone from Schoonmaker's quarry, near Milwaukee, is used at the Bay View iron works, and is one of the few cases. There are certain layers, however, in the Trenton limestone, widely spread over the southern part of the state, which are non-magnesian, and frequently sufficiently free from earthy impurities to be used as a flux. These layers deserve the attention of the iron masters of the state.

Much of the St. Peter's sandstone is a purely siliceous, loose, white sand, well adapted to the making of glass. It is now being put to this use at points in the eastern part of the state.

Peat exists in large quantities and of good quality underneath the numerous marshes of the eastern and central parts of the state. Whether it can be utilized in the future as a fuel, will depend altogether upon the cost of its preparation, which will have to be verj' low in order that it may compete with superior fuels. As a fertilizer, peat has always a great value, and requires no ireliminarv treatment.

All the rocky formations of Wisconsin are used in building, and even the briefest synopsis of the subject of the building stones of the state, would exceed the limits of this paper. A few of the more prominent kinds only are mentioned.

Granite occurs in protruding masses, and also grading into gneiss, in the northern portions of the state, at numerous points. In many places on the Wisconsin, Yellow, and Black rivers, and especially at Big Bull Falls, Yellow river, red granites of extraordinary beauty and value occur. These are not yet utilized, but will in the future have a high value.

The handsomest and most valuable sandstone found in Wisconsin, is that which extends along the shore of Lake Superior, from the Michigan to the Minnesota line, and which forms the basement rock of the Apostle islands. On one of these islands a verj* large quarry is opened, from which are taken masses of -almost any size, of a very close-grained, uniform, dark brown stone, which has been shipped largely to Chicago and Milwaukee. At the latter place, the well known court house is built of this stone. An eciually good stone can be obtained from the neighboring islands, and from points on the mainland. A very good white to brown, indurated sandstone is obtained from the middle portions of the Potsdam series, at Stevens Point, Portage county; near,Grand Rapids, Wood county ; at Black River Falls, Jackson county; at Packwaukee, Marquette county; near Wautoma, Waushara county; and at several points in the Baraboo valley, Sauk county. A good buff-colored, calcareous sandstone is quarried and used largely in the vicinity of Madison, from the uppermost layers of the Potsdam series.

All of the limestone formations of the state are quarried for building stone. A layer known locally as the "' Mendota " limestone, included in the upper layers of the Potsdam series, yields a very evenly bedded, yellow, fine-grained rock, which is largely quarried along the valley of the lower Wisconsin, and also in the countrj- about Madison. In the town of Westport, Dane county, a handsome, fine-grained, cream-colored limestone is obtained from the Lower Magnesian. The Trenton limestone yields an evenly bedded, thin stone, which is frequently used for laying in wall. The Galena and Niagara are also utilized, and the latter is capable, in much of the eastern part of the state, of furnishing a durable, easily dressed, compact, white stone.

In preparing this paper, I have made use of Professor Whitney's " Metallic Wealth of the United States." and " Report on the Geology of the Lead Region;" of the advance sheets of Volume II of the Reports of the State Geological Survey, including Professor T. C. Chamberlin's Report on the Geologj' of Eastern Wisconsin, my own Reix)rt on the Geologj' of Central Wisconsin, and Mr. Strong's Rejxjrt on the Geology of the Lead Region ; Mr. E. T. Sweet's account of the mineral exhibit of the state at the Centennial Exposition ; nnd of my unpublished reports on the geology of the counties bordering Lake Superior.

Wisconsin Railroads

The territory of Wisconsin offered great advantages to emigrants. Explorers had published accounts of the wonderful fertility of its soil, the wealth of its broad prairies and forest openings, and the beauty of its lakes and rivers. Being reached from the older states by way of the lakes and easily accessible by a long line of lake coast, the hardships incident to weeks of land travel were avoided. Previous to 1836 but few settlements had been made in that part of the then territory of Michigan, that year organized into the territory of Wisconsin, except as mining camps in the southwestern part, and scattered settlers in the vicinity of the trading posts and military stations. From that time on, with the hope of improving their condition, thousands of the enterprising yeomanry of New England, New York and Ohio started for the land of promise. Germans, Scandinavians and other nationalities, attracted by the glowing accounts sent abroad, crossed the ocean on their way to the new world; steamers and sail-craft laden with families and their household goods left Buffalo and other lake ports, all bound for the new Eldorado. It may be doubted if in the history of the world any country was ever peopled with the rapidity of southern and eastern Wisconsin. Its population in 1S40 was 30,749; in 1850, 304,756; in i860, 773,693; in 1870, 1,051,351; in 1875, 1,236,729. With the development of the agricultural resources of the new territory, grain raising became the most prominent interest, and as the settlements extended back from the lake shore the difficulties of transportation of the products of the soil were seriously felt. The expense incurred in moving a load of produce seventy or eighty miles to a market town on the lake shore frequently exceeded the gross sum obtained for the same. All goods, wares and merchandise, and most of the lumber used must also be hauled by teams from Lake Michigan. Many of our early settlers still retain vivid recollections of trying experiences in the Milwaukee woods and other sections bordering on the lake shore, from the south line of the state to Manitowoc and Sheboygan. To meet the great want - better facilities for transportation - a valuable land grant was obtained from congress, in 1838, to aid in building a canal from Milwaukee to Rock river The company which was organized to construct it, built a dam across Milwaukee river and a short section of the canal; then the work stopped and the plan was finally abandoned. It was early seen that to satisfy the requirements of the people, railroads, as the most feasable means of commuiucatiou within their reach, were an indispensable necessity.

Between the years 1838 and 1841, the territorial legislature of Wisconsin chartered several railroad companies, but with the exception of the " Milwaukee & Waukesha Railroad Company,'' incorporated in 1847, none of the corporations thus created took any particular shape. The commissioners named in its charter met November 23. 1847, and elected a president. Dr. L. W. Weeks, and a secretary, A. W. Randall (afterward governor of Wisconsin). On the first Monday of February, 1848, they opened books of subscription. The charter of the company provided that $100,000 should be subscribed and five percent, thereof paid in before the company should fully organize as a corporation. The country was new. There were plenty of active, energetic men, but money to build railroads was scarce, and not until .-Vpril 5, 1849, was the necessary raised and percentage paid. A board of directors was elected on the loth day of May, and Byron Kilbourn chosen president. The charter had been previously amended, in 1848, authorizing the company to build a road to the Mississippi river, in Grant county, and in 1850, its name was changed to the "Milwaukee & Mississippi Railroad Company." After the company was fully organized, active measures were taken to push the enterprise forward to completion. The city of Milwaukee loaned its credit, and in 185 1 the pioneer Wisconsin railroad raached Waukesha, twenty miles out from Milwaukee. In the spring of 1852, Edward H. Broadhead, a prominent engineer, from from the state of New York, was put in charge of the work as chief engineer and superintendent. Under his able and energetic administration the road was pushed forward in 1852 to Milton, in 1853 to Stoughton, in 1854 to Madison, and in 1856 to the Mississippi river, at Prairie du Chien. In 1851 John Catlin of Madison, was elected president in place of Kilbourn.

The proposed length of this article will not admit of any detailed statement of the trials, struggles and triumphs of the men who projected, and finally carried across the state, from the lake to the river, this first Wisconsin railroad. Mitchell, Kilbourn, Holton, Tweedy, Catlin, Walker, Broadhead, Crocker and many others, deserve to be remembered by our people as benefactors of the state. In 1859 and i860, the company defaulted in the payment of the interest on its bonds. A foreclosure was made and a new company, called the " Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien," took its place, succeeding to all its rights and property.

The "Southern Wisconsin Railway Company" was chartered in 1852, and authorized to build a road from Milton to the Mississippi river. When the Milwaukee and Mississippi road reached Milton in 1852, it was not authorized by its charter to go to Janesville, but, under the charter of the Southern Wisconsin, a company was organized that built the eight miles to Janesville in 1853. Under a subsequent amendment to the charter, the Milwaukee and Mississippi company was authorized to build from Milton to the Mississippi river. The Janesville branch was then purchased and extended to Monroe, a distance of about thirty-four miles, or forty-two miles west of Milton. Surveys were made and a line located west of Monroe to the river. The people of La Fayette and Grant counties have often been encouraged to e.xpect a direct railroad communication with the city of Milwaukee. Other and more important interests, at least so considered by the railroad company, have delayed the execution of the original plan, and the road through the counties mentioned still remains unbuilt.

The " LaCrosse & Milwaukee Railroad Company " was chartered in 1852, to construct a road from LaCrosse to Milwaukee. During the year in which the charter was obtained, the company was organized, and the first meeting of the commissioners held at LaCrosse. Among its projectors were Byron Kilbourn and Moses M. Strong. Kilbourn was elected its first president. No work was done upon this line until after its consolidation with the " Milwaukee, Fond du Lac & Green Bay Railroad Comiiany" in 1854. The latter company was chartered in 1853, to build a road from Milwaukee via West Bend to Fond du Lac and Green Bay. It organized in the spring of 1853, and at once commenced active operations under the supervision of James Kneeland, its first president. The city of Milwaukee loaned its credit for §200,000, and gave city bonds. The company secured depot grounds in Milwaukee, and did considerable grading for tiie first twentyfive miles out. Becoming embarrassed in January, 1854, the Milwaukee, Fond du Lac & Green Bay consolidated with the LaCrosse & Milwaukee company. Work was at once resumed on the partially graded line. In 1855 the road was completed to Horicon, fifty miles.

Wisconsix Railkoads

The Milwaukee & Watertown company was chartered in 1S51, to build from Milwaukee to Watertown. It soon organized, and began the construction of its line from Brookfield, fourteea miles west of Milwaukee, and a point on the Milwaukee & Mississippi road leading through Oconomowoc to Watertown. The charter contained a provision that the company might extend its road by way of Portage to La Crosse. It reached Watertown in 1856, and was consolidated with the LaCrosse & Milwaukee road in the autumn of the same year.

In the spring of 1856 congress made a grant of land to the state of Wisconsin, to aid in the building of a railroad from Madison, or Columbus, via Portage City, to the St. Croi.x river or lake, between townships 25 and 31. and from thence to the west end of Lake Superior, and to Bayfield. An adjourned session of the Wisconsin legislature met on September 3 of that year, to dispose of the grant. The disposal of this grant had been generally discussed by the press, and the public sentiment of the state seemed to tend toward its bestowal upon a new company. There is little doubt but that this was also the sentiment of a large majority of the members of both houses when the session commenced. When a new company was proposed a joint committee of twenty from the senate and assembly was appointed to prepare a bill, conferring the grant upon a company to be created by the bill itself. The work of the committee proceeded harmoniously until the question of who should be corporators was to be acted upon, when a difference of opinion was found to exist, and one that proved difficult to harmonize. In the meantime the LaCrosse and Watertown companies had consolidated, and a sufficient number of the members of both houses were "propitiated" by " pecuniary compliments" to induce them tO' pass the bill, conferring the so called St. Croix grant upon the LaCrosse & Milwaukee railroad company. The vote in the assembly in the passage of the bill was, ayes 62, noes 7. In the senate it stood, ayes 17, noes 7.

At the session of the legislature of 1S58 a committee was raised to investigate the matter, and their re[)ort demonstrated that bonds were set apart for all who voted for the LaCrosse bill ; to members of assembly §5,000 each, and members of senate $10,000 each. A few monthsafter the close of the legislative sesssion of 1856 the land grant bonds of the LaCrosse road, became worthless. Neither the LaCrosse company nor its successors ever received any portion of the lands granted to the state. During the year 1857 the LaCrosse company completed its line of road through Portage City to LaCrosse, and its Watertown line to Columbus.

The "Milwaukee & Horicon Railroad Company" was chartered in 1852. Between theyears 18155 and 1857 it built through Waupun and Ripon to Berlin, a distance of forty-two miles. It was, in effect, controlled by the LaCrosse & Milwaukee company, although built as a separate branch. This line was subsequently merged in the LaCrosse company, and is now a part of the northern division of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway.

The Madison, Fond du Lac & Lake Michigan Railroad Company" was chartered in 1855, to build a road from Madison ?'/(? Fond du Lac to Lake Michigan. In 1857 it bought of the LaCrosse company that portion of its road acquired by consolidation with the Milwaukee & Watertown company. Its name was then changed to " Milwaukee & Western Railroad Company." It owned a line of road from Brookfield to Watertown, and branches from the latter place to Columbus and Sun Prairie, in all about eighty miles in length.

In 1858 and 1859 the La Crosse & Milwaukee and the Milwaukee & Horicon companies defaulted in the payment of the interest on their bonded debts. In the same years the bondholders of the two companies instituted foreclosure proceedings on the different trust deeds given to secure their bonds. Other suits to enforce the payment of their floating debts were also commenced. Protracted litigation in both the state and federal courts resulted in a final settlement in 1868, by a decision of the supreme court of the United States. In the meantime, in 1862 and

1863, both roads were sold, and purchased by an association of the bondholders, who organized the " Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company." The new company succeeded to all the rights of both the La Crosse and Horicon companies, and soon afterward, in 1863, purchased the property of the Milwaukee & Western company, thus getting control of the roads from Milwaukee to La Crosse, from Horicon to Berlin, from Brookfield to Watertown, and the branches to Columbus and Sun Prairie. In 1864 it built from Columbus to Portage, from Brookfield to Milwaukee, and subsequently extended the Sun Prairie branch to Madison, in 1869. It also purchased the Ripon & Wolf River road, which had been built fifteen miles in length, from Ripon to Omro, on the Fox river, and extended it to Winneconne on the Wolf river, five miles farther, and twenty miles from Ripon. In 1867 the Milwaukee & St. Paul railway company obtained control of the Milwaukee & Prairie du Chien railroad. The legislature of 1857 had passed an act, authorizing all stock-holders in all incorporated companies to vote on shares of stock owned by them. The directors of the Milwaukee & St. Paul company had secured a majority of the common stock, and, at the election of 1867, elected themselves a board of directors for the Prairie du Chien company. All the rights, property and interests of the latter company came under the ownership and control of the former.

In 1865, .Mexander Mitchell, of Milwaukee, was elected president, and S. S. Merrill general manager of the Milwaukee & St. Paul railway company. They were retained in their respective positions by the new organization, and still continue to hold these offices, a fact largely owing to the able and efficient manner that has characterized their management of the company's affairs. The company operates eight hundred and thirty-four miles of road in Wisconsin, and in all two thousand two hundred and seven miles. Its lines extend to St. Paul and Minneapolis in Minnesota, and to Algona in Iowa, and over the Western Union to Savanna and Rock Island in the State of Illinois.

The " Oshkosh & Mississippi Railroad Company " was chartered in 1866 to build a road from the city of Oshkosh to the Mississippi river. Its construction to Ripon in 1872 was a move on the part of citizens of Oshkosh to connect their town with the Milwaukee & St. Paul road. It is twenty miles in length and leased to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company.

In 1 87 1 and 1872 the "Wisconsin L'nion Railroad Company," of which John W. Cary was president, built a road from Milwaukee to the state line between Wisconsin and Illinois, to connect with a road built from Chicago to the state line of Illinois. This new line between Milwaukee and Chicago was built in the interest of, and in fact by, the Milwaukee & St. Paul company to afford a connection between its Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota system of roads, and the eastern trunk lines centering in Chicago. It runs parallel with the shore of Lake Michigan and from three to six miles from it, and is eighty-five miles in length.

The territorial legislature of 1848 chartered the " Madison & Beloit Railroad Company" with authority to build a railroad from Beloit to Madison only. In 1850, by an act of the legislature, the company was authorized to extend the road to the Wisconsin river and La Crosse, and to a point on the Mississippi river near St. Paul, and also from Janesville to Fond du Lac. Its name was changed, under legislative authority, to the "Rock River Valley Union Railroad Company." In 1851, the line from Janesville north not being pushed as the ]>eople expected, the legislature of Illinois chartered the " Illinois & Wisconsin Railroad Company " with authority to consolidate with any road in Wisconsin. In 1S55, an act of the Wisconsin legislature consolidated the Illinois and Wisconsin companies with the " Rock River Valley Union Railroad Company," and the new organization took the name of the " Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac Rail- road Company." In 1854, and previous to the consolidation, the company had failed and passed into the hands of tlie bondholders, who foreclosed and took stock for their bonds. The old management of A. Hyatt Smith and John B. Macy was superseded, and Wm. B. Ogden was made president. Chicago was all along deeply interested in reaching the rich grain fields of the Rock river valley, as well as the inexhaustible timber and mineral wealth of the northern part of Wisconsin and that part of Michigan bordering on Lake Superior, called the Peninsula. It also sought a connection with the upper Mississippi region, then being rapidly peopled, by a line of railroad to run through Madison to St. Paul, in Minnesota. Its favorite road was started from Chicago on the wide (six feet) gauge, and so constructed seventy miles to Sharon on the Wisconsin state line. This was changed to the usual (four feet, eight and one-half inches) width, and the work was vigorously pushed, reaching Janesville in 1855 and Fond du Lac in 1858. The Rock River Valley Union railroad company had, however, built about thirty miles from Fond du Lac south toward Minnesota Junction before the consolidation took place. The partially graded line on a direct route between Janesville and Madison was abandoned. In 1852 a new charter had been obtained, and the " Beloit & Madison Railroad Company " had been organized to build a road from Beloit via Janesville to Madison. A subsequent amendment to this charter had left out Janesville as a point, and the Beloit branch was pushed through to Madison, reaching that city in 1864.

The "Galena and Chicago Union Railroad Company" had built a branch of the Galena line from Belvedere to Beloit previous to 1S54. In that year, it leased the Beloit & Madison road, and from 1856 operated it in connection with the Milwaukee & Mississippi, reaching Janesville by way of Hanover Junction, a station on its Southern Wisconsin branch, eight miles west of Janesville. The consolidation of the Galena & Chicago Union and the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac companies was effected and approved by legislative enactment in 1855, and a new organization called the "Chicago & Northwestern Railwav Company" took their place.

The "Green Bay, Milwaukee & Chicago Railroad Company " was chartered in 1851 to build a road from Milwaukee to the state line of Illinois to connect with a road from Chicago, called the Chicago & Milwaukee railroad. Both roads were completed in 1855, and run in connection until 1S63, when they were consolidated under the name of the "Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad Company." To prevent its falling into the hands of the Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago & Northwestern secured it by perpetual lease, May 2, 1866, and it is now operated as its Chicago division.

The Kenosha & Beloit Railroad Company " was incorporated in 1S53 to build a road from Kenosha to Beloit, and was organized soon after its charteriwas obtained. Its name was afterward changed to the " Kenosha, Rockford & Rock Island Railroad Company," and its route changed to run to Rockford instead of Beloit. The line starts at Kenosha, and runs through the county of Kenosha and crosses the state line near the village of Genoa in the county of Walworth, a distance of tliirty miles in the state of Wisconsin, and there connects with a road in Illinois running to Rockford, and with which it consolidated. Kenosha and its citizens were the principal subscribers tc its capital stock. The company issued its bonds, secured by the usual mortgage on its franchises and property. Failing to pay its interest, the mortgage was foreclosed, and the road was sold to the Chicago & Northwestern company in 1863, and is now operated by it as the Kenosha division. The line was constructed from Kenosha to Genoa in 1862.

The "Northwestern Union Railway Company " was organized in 1872, under the general railroad law of the state, to build a line of road from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac, with a branch to Lodi. The road was constructed during the years 1872 and 1873 from Milwaukee to Fond du Lac. The Chicago & Northwestern company were principally interested in its being built, to

The " Baraboo Air-Line Railroad Company" was incorporated in 1870,10 build a road from Madison, Columbus, or Waterloo via Baraboo, to La Crosse, or any point on the Mississippi river. It organized in the interest of the Chicago & Northwestern, with which company it consolidated, and the work of building a connecting line between Madison and Winona Junction was vigorously pushed forward. Lodi was reached in 1870, Baraboo in 1871, and Winona Junction in 1874. The ridges between Elroy and Sparta were tunneled at great expense and with much difficulty. In 1874 the company reported an expenditure for its three tunnels of §476,743.32, and for the 129 i-io miles between Madison and Winona Junction of $5,342,169.96, and a large expenditure yet required to be made on it. In 1867 the Chicago & Northwestern company bought of D. N. Barney & Co. their interest in the Winona & St. Peters railway, a line being built westerly from Winona in Minnesota, and of which one hundred and five miles had been built. It also bought of the same parties their interest in the La Crosse, Trempealeau & Prescott railway, a line being built from Winona Junction, three miles east of La Crosse, to Winona, Minn. The latter line was put in operation in 1870, and is twenty-nine miles long. With the completion of its Madison branc'.i to Winona junction, in 1873, it had in operation a line from Chicago, via Madison and Winona, to Lake Kampeska, Minn., a distance of six hundred and twenty-three miles.

In the year 1856 a valuable grant of land was made by congress to the state of Wisconsin to aid in the construction of railroads. The Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac company claimed that the grant was obtained through its efforts, and that of right it should have the northeastern grant, so-called. At the adjourned session of the legislature of 1856, a contest over the disposition of tlie grant resulted in conferring it upon the " Wisconsin & Superior Railroad Company," a corporation chartered for the express purpose of giving it this grant. It was generally believed at the time that the new company was organized in the interest of the Chicago, St. Paul & Fond du Lac company, and at the subsequent session, in the following year, it was authorized to consolidate with the new company, which it did in the spring of that year, and thus obtained the grant of 3,840 acres per mile along its entire line, from Fond du Lac northerly to the state line between Wisconsin and Michigan. It extended its road to Oshkosh in 1859, to A])pleton in 1861, and in i8()2 to Fort Howard, forming a line two hundred and forty-two miles long. The line from Fort Howard to Escanaba, one hundred and fourteen miles long, was opened in December, 1872, and made a connection with the peninsular railroad of Michigan. It nowbecamea part of the Chicago & Northwestern, extending from Escanaba to the iron mines, and thence to Lake Superior at Marquette. Albert Keep, of Chicago, is president, and Marvin Hughitt, a gentleman of great railroad ex[>erience, is general superintendent. The company operates five hundred and sixty-seven miles of road in Wisconsin, and in all sixteen hundred and sixteen miles. Its lines extend into five different states. Over these lines its equipment is run in common, or transferred from place to place, as the changes in !.i.-.siness may temjjorarily require.

The " Milwaukee & Northern Railway Company" was incorporated in 1S70, to build a road from Milwaukee to some point on the Fox river below Winnebago lake, and thence to Lake Superior, with branches. It completed its road to Menasha, one hundred and two miles from Milwaukee, with a branch from Hilbert to Green Bay, twenty-seven miles, in 1873, and in that vear leased Us line to the " Wisconsin Central Railroad Company," which is still operating it. In

1864 congress made a grant of land to the state of Wisconsin to aid in the construction of a railroad from Berlin, Doty's Island, Fond du Lac, or Portage, by way of Stevens Point, to Bayfield or Superior, granting the odd sections within ten miles on each side of the line, with an indemnity limit of twenty miles on each side. The legislature of 1865 failed to dispose of this grant, but that of 1866 provided for the organization of two companies, one to build from Portage City by way of Berlin to Stevens Point, and the other from Menasha to the same point, and then jointly to Bayfield and Lake Superior. The former was called the " Winnebago and Lake Superior Railroad Company," and the latter the " Portage & Superior Railroad Company." In 1869 an act was jiassed consolidating the two companies, which was done under the name of the " Portage, Winnebago & Superior Railroad Company." In 1871 the name of the company was changed to the "Wisconsin Central Railroad Company." The Winnebago & Lake Superior company was organized under Hon. George Reed as president, and at once commenced the construction of its line of road between Menasha and Stevens Point. In 187 1 the Wisconsin Central consolidated with the " Manitowoc & Mississippi Railroad Company." The articles of consolidation provided that Gardner Colby, a director of the latter company, should be president, and that George Reed, a director of the former, should be vice president of the new organization; with a further provision that Gardner Colby, George Reed, and Elijah B. Phillips should be and remain its executive committee.

In 1871, an act was passed incorporating the "Phillips and Colby Construction Company," which created E. B. Phillips, C. L. Colby, Henry Pratt, and such others as they might associate with them, a body corporate, with authority to build railroads and do all manner of things relating to railroad construction and operation. Under this act the construction company contracted with the Wisconsin Central railroad company, to build its line of road from Menasha to Lake .Superior. In November, 1873, the Wisconsin Central leased of the Milwaukee & Northern company its line of road extending from Schwartzburg to Menasha, and the branch to Green Bay, for the term of nine hundred and ninety-nine years, and also acquired the rights of the latter company to use the track of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company between Schwartzburg and .Milwaukee, and to depot facilities in Milwaukee. The construction of the land grant portion of this important line of road was commenced in 1871, and it was completed to Stevens Point in November of that year. It was built from Stevens Point north one hundred miles to Worcester in 1872. During 1872 and 1873, it was built from Ashland south to the Penoka iron ridge, a distance of thirty miles. The straight line between Portage City and Stevens Point, authorized by an act of the legislature of 1875, was constructed between October i, 1875, and October, 1876, seven'y-one miles in length. The gap of forty-two miles between Worcester and Penoka iron ridge was closed in June, 1877. E. B. Phillips, of Milwaukee, is president and general manager. This line of road passes through a section of our state hitherto unsettled. It has been pushed through with energy, and opened up for settlement an immense region of heavily timbered land, and thus contributed to the growth and prosperity of the state.

The " Racine, Janesville & Mississippi Railroad Company " was chartered in 1852,10 build a road from Racine to Beloit, and was organized the same year. The city of Racine issued its bonds for $300,000 in payment for that amount of stock. The towns of Racine, Elkhorn, Delevan and Beloit gave $190,000, and issued their bonds, and farmers along the line made liberal subscriptions and secured the same by mortgages on their farms. The road was built to Burlington in 1S55, to Delavan e.Trly in 1856, and to Beloit, sixty-eight miles from Racine, during the same year. Failing to meet the interest on its bonds and its floating indebtedness, it was sur- rendered by the company to the bond-holders in 1859, who completed it to Freeport during that year, and afterward built to the Mississippi river at Savannah, and thence to Rock Island. The bond-holders purchased and sold the road in 1866, and a new organization was had as the " Western Union Railroad Company," and it has sinee been operated under that name. In 1869, it built a line from Elkhorn to Eagle, seventeen miles, and thus made a connection with Milwaukee over the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line. The latter company owns a controlling interest it its line. Alexander Mitchell is the president of the company, and D. A. Olio, general superintendent.

The lands granted by congress in 1856 to aid in the construction of a railroad in Wisconsin, from Tomah to Superior and Bayfield, were disposed of as mentioned under the history of tlic Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company. The La Crosse company, as we have seen, prevailed in the legislature of 1856, and secured legislation favorable to its interests; but it failed to build the line of road provided for, and forfeited its right to lands granted. In 1863, the " Tomah & Lake St. Croix Railroad Company " was incorporated, with authority to construct a railroad from some point in the town of Tomah in Monroe county, to such point on Lake St. Croix, between townships 25 and 31 as the directors might determine. To the company, by the act creating it, was granted all the interest and estate of this state, to so much of the lands granted by the United States to the state of Wisconsin, known as the St. Croix grant, as lay between Tomah and Lake St. Croix. A few months after its organization, the company passed substantially into the hands of D. A. Baldwin and Jacob Humbird, who afterward built a line of road from Tomah, via Black River Falls, and Eau Claire to Hudson, on Lake St. Croix, one hundred and seventy-eight miles. Its name was afterward changed to the "West Wisconsin Railroad Company." In 1873, it built its road from Warren's Mills via Camp Douglass, on the St. Paul road to Elroy, and took up its track from the first-named place, twelve miles, to Tomah. A law-suit resulted, which went against the railroad company, and the matter was finally compromised by the payment of a sum of money by the company to the town of Tomah. The road was built through a new and sparsely settled country, and its earnings have not been sufficient to enrich its stock-holders. It connects at Camp Douglass with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, and at Elroy with the Chicago & Northwestern railway company's line, which gives the latter a through line to St. Paul. It is operated in connection with the Chicago & Northwestern railway, and managed in its interest. It is now in the hands of Wm. H. Ferry, of Chicago, as receiver; H. H. Potter, of Chicago, as president]; and E. W. Winter, of Hudson, superintendent.

In 1870, the "Milwaukee, Manitowoc & Green Bay Railroad Company " was chartered to build a road from Milwaukee to Green Bay by way of Manitowoc. It built its line from Milwaukee to Manitowoc in 1873, when its name was changed to " Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railroad Company." Under a decree of foreclosure, it was sold Dec. 10, 1875, and its name w.is changed to " Milwaukee, Lake Shore & Western Railway Company," by which name it is still known.

In 1866, the " Appleton & New London Railroad Company" was incorporated to build a road from ,\ppleton to New London, and thence to Lake Superior. A subsequent amendment to its charter authorized it to extend its road to Manitowoc. It built most of the line from Appleton to that city, and then, under legislative authority, sold this extension to the Milwau- kee. Lake Shore cv Western railroad company. The last-named company extended it to New London, on the Wolf river, twenty-one miles, in 1876, where it connects with the Green Bay & Minnesota road. It now operates one hundred and forty-six miles of road, extending from Milwaukee to New London, passing through Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Appleton, which includes a branch line six miles in length from Manitowoc to Two Rivers. F. W. Rhinelander, of New Vork, is its president, and H. G. H. Reed, of Milwaukee, superintendent.

The line of road operated by this company extends from Fort Howard to the Mississippi river, opposite Winona, Minnesota. It is two hundred and sixteen miles in length, and was built through a sparsely settled and heavily timbered section of the state. It began under most discouraging circumstances, yet was pushed through by the energy of a few men at Green Bay and along its line. It was originally chartered in 1866 as the "Green Bay & Lake Pepin Railroad Company " to build a road from the mouth of the Fox river near Green Bay to the Mississippi river opposite Winona. But little was done except the making of preliminary surveys in 1870. During 1870 and 187 1, forty miles were constructed and put in operation. In 1872, one hundred and fourteen miles were graded, the track laid, and the river reached, sixty-two miles farther, in 1873. In 1876, it acquired the right to use the "Winona cut-off " between Winona and Onalaska, and built a line from the latter point to La Crosse, seven miles, thus connecting its road with the chief city of Wisconsin on the Mississippi river. The city of La Crosse aided this extension by subscribing $75,000 and giving its corporation bonds for that amount. Henry Ketchum, of New London, is president of the company, and D. M. Kelly, of Green Bay, general manager.

The "Wisconsin Valley Railroad Company " was incorporated in 187 1 to build a road from a point on or near the line of the Milwaukee & La Crosse railroad, between Kilbourn City and the tunnel in said road to the village of Wausau, in the county of Marathon, and the road to pass not more than one mile west of the village of Grand Rapids, in the county of Wood. The road was commenced at Tomah, and graded to Centralia in 1872, and opened to that village in 1873, ind during 1874 it was completed to Wausau, ninety miles in its whole length. Boston capitalists furnished the money, and it is controlled in the interest of the Dubuque & Minnesota railroad, through which the equipment was procured. The lumber regions of the Wisconsin river find an outlet over it, and its junction with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road at Tomah enables a connection with the railroads of Iowa and Minnesota. It gives the people of Marathon county in outlet long needed for a large lumber traffic, and also enables them to receive their goods and supplies of various kinds for the lumbering region tributary to Wausau. James F. Joy, of Detroit, is president, and F. O. Wyatt, superintendent.

The "Sheboygan & Mississippi Railroad Company " was incorporated in 1852, to build a road from Sheboygan to the Mississippi river. It was completed from Sheboygan to Plymouth in 1858, to Glenbeulah in i860, to Fond du Lac in 1868, and to Princeton in 1872. The extension from Fond du Lac to Princeton was built under authority of an act passed in 1871.

Under a foreclosure in 1861 the line from Sheboygan to Fonddu Lac was sold, and the name of the company chanced to "Sheboygan & Fond du Lac Railroad Company." The length of the line is seventy-eight miles, and it passes through a fertile agricultural country. The city of Sheboygan, county, city and town of Fond du Lac, and the towns of Riverdale, Ripon, Brooklyn, Princeton, and St. Marie, aided in its building to an amount exceeding $250,000. D. L. Wells is president, and Geo. P. Lee, superindendent.

The "Mineral Point Railroad Company " was chartered in 1852,10 build a road from Mineral Point, in the county of Iowa, to the state line, in township number one, in either the county of Green or La Fayette. It was completed to Warren, in the state of Illinois, thirty-two miles, in

1855, making a connection at that ])oint with the Illinois Central, running from Chicago to Galena. Iowa county loaned its credit and issued its bonds to aid in its construction. It was sold under foreclosure in 1856. Suits were brought against Iowa county to collect the amount of its bonds, and judgment obtained in the federal courts. Much litigation has been had, and ill feeling engendered, the supervisors of the county having been arrested for contempt of the decree of the court. Geo. W. Cobb, of Mineral Point, is the general manager.

The Dubuque, Platteville & Milwaukee railroad was completed in July, 1870, and extends from Calamine, a point on the Mineral Point railroad, to the village of Platteville, eighteen miles, and is operated by the Minera*! Point railroad company

The legislature of 1855 chartered the "Sugar River Valley Railroad Company " to build a road from a point on the north side of the line of the Southern Wisconsin road, within the limits of Green county, to Dayton, on the Sugar river. In 1857 it was authorized to build south to the state line, and make its northern terminus at Madison. In 1861 it was authorized to build from Madison to Portage City, and from Columbus to Portage City, and so much of the land grant act of

1856, as related to the building of the road from Madison, and from Columbus to Portage City, was annulled and repealed, and the rights and privileges that were conferred upon the LaCrosse company were given to the Sugar River Valley railroad company, and the portion of the land grant, applicable to the lines mentioned, was conferred upon the last named company. Under this legislation about twenty miles of the line between Madison and Portage were graded, and the right of way secured for about thirty of the thirty-nine miles. The La Oosse company had done considerable grading before its right was annulled. In 1866 the company was relieved from constructing the road from Columbus to Portage City. In 1870 the purchasers of that part of the Sugar River Valley railroad lyiiig between Madison and Portage City were incorporated as the " Madison & Portage Railroad Company," and to share all the rights, grants, etc., that were conferred upon the Sugar River railroad company by its charter, and amendments thereto, so far as related to that portion of the line.

Previous to this time, in 1864 and 1865, judgments had been obtained against the Sugar River Valley company ; and its right of way, grading and depot grounds sold for a small sum. James Campbell, who had been a contractor with the Sugar River Valley company, with others, became the purchasers, and organized under the act of 1870, and, during the year 187 1, completed it between Madison and Portage City, and in March, 1871, leased it to the Milwaukee & St. Paul company, and it is still operated by that corporation. In 1871 the Madison & Portage company was authorized to extend its road south to the Illinois state line, and north from Portage City to Lake Winnebago. The same year it was consolidated with the " Rockford Central

Railroad Company," of Illinois, and its name changed to the "Chicago & Superior Railroad Company," but still retains its own organization. The Madison & Portage railroad company claims a share in the lands granted by acts of congress in 1856, and have commenced proceedings to assert its claim, which case is still pending in the federal courts.

The "North Wisconsin Railroad Company" was incorporated in 1869, to build a road from Lake St. Croix, or river, to Bayfield on Lake Superior. The grant of land by congress in 1856, to aid in building a road from Lake St. Croix to Bayfield on Lake Superior, under the decision of the federal court, was yet at the disposal of the state. This company, in 187 i, built a short section of its line of road, with the expectation of receiving the grant. In 1873, the grant was conferred upon the Milwaukee & St. Paul company, but under the terms and restrictions contained in the act, it declined to accept it. The legislature of 1874 gave it to the North Wisconsin company, and it has built forty miles of its road, and received the lands pertaining thereto. Since 1876, it has not completed any part of its line, but is trj'ing to construct twenty miles during the present year. The company is authorized to construct a road both to Superior and to Bayfield, but the act granting the lands confers that portion from Superior to the intersection of the line to Bayfield upon the Chicago & North Pacific air-line railroad. This last-named company have projected a line from Chicago to the west end of Lake Superior, and are the owners of an old grade made through Walworth and Jefferson counties, by a company chartered in 1853 as the " AV'isconsin Central," to build a road from Portage City to Geneva, in the county of Walworth. The latter company had also graded its line between Geneva and the state line of Illinois. This grade was afterward appropriated by the Chicago & Northwestern, and over it they now operate their line from Chicago to Geneva.

This is a line two miles in length, connecting Prairie du Chien in Wisconsin, with McGregor in Iowa. It is owned and operated by John Lawler, of the latter-named place. It extends across both channels of the Mississippi river, and an intervening island. The railroad bridge consists of substantial piling, except a pontoon draw across each navigable channel. Each pontoon is four hundred feet long and thirty feet wide, provided with suitable machinery and operated by steam power. Mr. Lawler has secured a patent on his invention of the pontoon draw for railroad bridges. His line was put in operation in April, 1874.

This road was built in 1874, by a company organized under the general law of the state. It is eleven miles in length, and connects the " Falls " with the West Wisconsin line at Eau Claire. It was constructed by the energetic business men and capitalists of Chippewa Falls, to afford ai. outlet for the great lumber and other interests of that thriving and prosperous city. The road is substantially built, and the track laid with steel rails.

The "Galena & Southern Wisconsin Railroad Company" was incoriwrated in 1857. Under Its charter, a number of capitalists of the city of Galena, in the state of Illinois, commenced the construction of a narrow (three feet) gauge road, running from that city to Platteville, thirtyone miles in length, twenty miles in Wisconsin. It runs through a part of La Fayette county to Platteville, in Grant county, and was completed to the latter jwint in 1875. Surveys are bueing made for an extension to Wingville, in Grant county.

The "Fond du Lac, Amboy & Peoria Railway Company" was organized under the general law of the state, in 1874, to build a narrow gauge road from tlie city of Fond du Lac to the south line of the state in the county of Walworth or Rock, and it declared its intention to consolidate with a company in Illinois that had projected a line of railroad from Peoria, in Illinois, to the south line of the state of Wisconsin. The road is constructed and in operation from Fond du Lac to Iron Ridge, a point on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, twenty-nine miles from Fond du Lac.

The " Pine River & Steven's Point Railroad Company " was organized by the enterprising citizens of Richland Center, and has built a narrow gauge road from Lone Rock, a point on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul road, in Richland county, to Richland Center, si.xteen miles in length. Its track is laid with wooden rails, and it is operated successfully.

The " Chicago & Tomah Railroad Company " organized under the general railroad law of the state, in 1872, to construct a narrow gauge road from Chicago, in Illinois, to the city of Tomah, in Wisconsin. Its president and active manager is D. R. Williams, of Clermont, Iowa, and its secretary is L. M. Culver, of Wauzeka. It has graded about forty-five miles, extending from Wauzeka u[) the valley of the Kickapoo river, in Crawford county, Wisconsin. It expects to have fifty-four miles in operation, to Bloomingdale, in Vernon county, the present year (1S77). The rolling stock is guaranteed, and the president is negotiating for the purchase of the iron. South of Wauzeka the line is located to Belmont, in Iowa county. At Wauzeka it will connect with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul line.

The public-spirited citizens of Necedah, in Juneau county, have organized under the general law of the state, and graded a road-bed from their village to New Lisbon, on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul company's line. The latter company furnish and lay the iron, and will operate the road. It is thirteen miles in length.

The railroads of Wisconsin have grown up under the requirements of the several localities that have planned and commenced their construction, and without regard to any general system. Frequently the work of construction was begun before adequate means were provided, and bankruptcy overtook the roads in their early stages. The consolidation of the various companies, as in the cases of the Chicago, .Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Chicago & Northwestern, and others, has been effected to give through lines and the public greater facilities, as well as to introduce economy in management. At times the people have become apprehensive, and by legislative action prohibited railroads from consolidating, and have sought to control and break down the power of these corporations and to harmonize the interests of the companies and the public. The act of 1874, called the "Potter law," was the assertion, by the legislative power of the state, of its right to control corporations created by itself, and limit the rates at which freight and passengers should be carried. After a long and expensive contest, carried through the state and federal courts, this right has been established, being finally settled by the decision of the supreme court of the LTnited States.

Quite all the railroads of Wisconsin have been built with foreign capital. The plan pursued after an organization was effected, was to obtain stock subscriptions from those immediately interested in the enterprise, procure the aid of counties and municipalities, and then alhire the farmers, with the prospect of joint ownership in railroads, to subscribe for stock and mortgage thei^ farms to secure the payment of their subscriptions. Then the whole line was bonded and a mortgage executed. The bonds and mortgages thus obtained, were taken to the money centers of New York, London, Amsterdam and other places, and sold, or hypothecated to obtain the money with which to prosecute the work. The bonds and mortgages were made to draw a high rate of interest, and the earnings of these new roads, through unsettled localities, were insufficient to pay more than running and incidental expenses, and frequently fell short of that. Default occurring in the payment of interest, the mortgages were foreclosed and the property passed into the hands and under the control of foreign capitalists. Such has been the history of most of the railroads of our state. The total number of farm mortgages given has been 3,785, amounting to ^,079,433 ; town, county and municipal bonds, amounting to $6,910,652. The total cost of all the railroads in the state, as given by the railroad commissioner in his report for 1876, has been $98,343,453.67. This vast sum is, no doubt, greatly in excess of what the cost should have been, but the roads have proved of immense benefit in the development of the material resources of the state.

Other lines are needed through sections not yet traversed by the iron steed, and present lines should be extended by branch roads. The questions upo.i which great issues were raised between the railway corporations and the people, are now happily settled by securing to the latter their rights ; and the former, under the wise and conciliatory policy pursued by their managers, are assured of the sa'fety of their investments. An era of good feeling has succeeded one of distrust and antagonism. The people must use the railroads, and the railroads depend upon the people for sustenance and protection. This mutuality of interest, when fully recognized on both sides, will result in giving to capital a fair return and to labor its just reward.

Lumber Manufacture

Foremost among the industries of Wisconsin is that of manufacturing lumber. Very much of the importance to which the state has attained is due to the development of its forest wealth. In America, agriculture always has been, and always will be, the primary and most important interest; but no nation can subsist upon agriculture alone. While the broad prairies of Illinois and Iowa are rich with a fertile and productive soil, the hills and valleys of northern Wisconsin are clothed with a wealth of timber that has given birth to a great manufacturing interest, which employs millions of capital and thousands of men, and has peopled the northern wilds with energetic, prosperous communities, built up enterprising cities, and crossed the state with a network of railways which furnish outlets for its productions and inlets for the new populations which are ever seeking for homes and employment nearer to the setting sun.

If a line be drawn upon the state map, from Green Ray westward through Stevens Point, to where it would naturally strike the Mississippi river, it will be below the southern boundary of the pine timber regions, with the single exception of the district drained by the Yellow river, a tributary of the Wisconsin, drawing its timber chiefly from Wood and Juneau counties. The territory north of this imaginary line covers an area a little greater than one half of the state. The pine timbered land is found in belts or ridges, interspersed with prairie openings, patches of hardwood and hemlock, and drained by numerous water-courses. No less than seven large rivers traverse this northern section, and, with their numerous tributaries, penetrate every county, affording facilities for floating the logs to the mills, and, in many instances, the power to cut them into lumber. This does not include the St. Croi.x, which forms the greater portion of the boundary line between Wisconsin and Minnesota, and, by means of its tributaries, draws the most and best of its pine from the former state. These streams divide the territory, as far as lumbering is concerned, into six separate and distinct districts : The Green bay shore, which includes the Wisconsin side of the Menomonee, the Peshtigo and Oconto rivers, with a number of creeks which flow into the bay between the mouths of the Oconto and Fox rivers ; the Wolf river district; the NVisconsin river, including the Yellow, as before mentioned ; the Black river; the Chippewa and Red Cedar ; and the Wisconsin side of the St. Croix.

Beginning with the oldest of these, the Green bay shore, a brief description of each will be attempted. The first saw-mill built in the state, of which there is now any knowledge, was put in operation in 1809, in Brown county, two or three miles east from Depere, on a little stream which was known as East river. It was built by Jacob Franks, but probably was a very small affair. Of its machinery or capacity for sawing, no history has been recorded, and it is not within the memory of any inhabitant of to-day. In 1829, John P. Arndt, of Green Bay, built a waterpower mill on the Pensaukee river at a point where the town of Big Suamico now stands. In 1834, a mill was built on the Wisconsin side of the Menomonee, and, two years later, one at Peshtigo. Lumber was first shipped to market from this district in 1834, which must be termed the beginning of lumbering operations on the bay shore. The lands drained by the streams which flow into Green bay are located in Shawano and Oconto counties, the latter being the largest in the state. In 1847, Willard Lamb, of Green Bay, made the first sawed pine shingles in that district ; they were sold to the Galena railroad company for use on depot buildings, and were the first of the kind sold in Chicago. Subsequently Green Bay became one of the greatest points for the manufacture of such shingles in the world. The shores of the bay are low, and gradually change from marsh to swamp, then to level dry land, and finally become broken and mountainous to the northward. The pine is in dense groves that crowd closely upon the swamps skirting the bay, and reach far back among the hills of the interior. The Peshtigo flows into the bay about ten miles south of the Menomonee, and takes its rise far back in Oconto county, near to the latter's southern tributaries. It is counted a good logging stream, its annual product being from 40,000,000 to 60,000,000 feet. The timber is of a rather coarse quality, running but a small percentage to what the lumbermen term "uppers." .\bout ten per cent, is what is known as Norway pine. Of the whole amount of timber tributary to the Peshtigo, probably about one third has been cut off to this date. The remainder will not average of as good quality, and only a limited portion of the land is of any value for agricultural purposes after being cleared of the pine. There are only two mills on this stream, both being owned by one company. The Oconto is one of the most important streams in the district. The first saw-mill was built on its banks about the year 1840, though the first lumbering operations of any account were begun in 1845 by David Jones. The business was conducted quite moderately until 1856, in which year several mills were built, and from that date Oconto has been known as quite an extensive lumber manufacturing point. The timber tributary to this stream has been of the best quality found in the state. Lumber cut from it has been known to yield the extraordinarily high average of fifty and sixty per cent, uppers. The timber now being cut will not average more than half that. The proportion of Norway is about five per cent. It is estimated that from three fourths to four fifths of the timber tributary to the Oconto has been cut away, but it will require a much longer time to convert the balance into lumber than was necessary to cut its equivalent in amount, owing to its remote location. The annual production of pine lumber at Oconto is from 50,000,000 to 65,000,000 feet. The whole production of the district, exclusive of the timber which is put into the Menomonee from Wisconsin, is about 140,000,000 feet annually.

The Wolf river and its tributaries constitute the next district, proceeding westward. The first saw logs cut on this stream for commercial purposes were floated to the government mill at Neenah in 1835. In 1842, Samuel Farnsworth erected the first saw-mill on the upper Wolf near the location of the present village of Shawano, and in the following spring he sent the first raft of lumber down the Wolf to Oshkosh. This river also rises in Oconto county, but flows in a southerly direction, and enters Winnebago lake at Oshkosh. Its pineries have been very extensive, but the drain upon them within the past decade has told with greater effect than upon any other district in the state. The quality of the timber is very fine, and the land is considered good for agricultural purposes, and is being occupied upon the lines of the different railways which cross it. The upper waters of the Wolf are rapid, and have a comparatively steady flow, which renders it a very good stream for driving logs. Upon the upper river, the land is quite rolling, and about the head-waters is almost mountainous. The pine timber that remains in this district is high up on the main river and branches, and will last but a few years longer. A few years ago the annual product amounted to upward of 250,000,000 feet; in 1876 it was 138,000,000. The principal manufacturing points are Oshkosh and Fond du Lac ; the former has 21 mills, and the latter 10.