Honey Creek Town

Honey Creek Town

On Section 55, Town 11 North, Range 5 E, a half a mile from the house of Galand Jacobs, is a fall of water of about thirty feet, twenty feet perpendicular. In high water it makes an imposing appearance. In the dry months of summer but little water runs over it. It is not visited much, although it is a pretty piece of scenery. To the geologist it must be an interesting point to visit. It is about eighteen miles west by south-west from Bevil's Lake.

The Bells Of The Wisconsin River

Are twelve miles north of Lake of the Bluffs. They are grand beyond description. A person visiting this place should first call upon Hiram Bennett, at his photograph gallery, at Kilbourn. He is the prince of landscape photographing. He has the points all mapped out, and is entertaining and enthusiastic.

The simple passage of the Wisconsin River through a gorgey and gorgeous channel of soft shaly sand-rock, for 4 or 5 miles, in a zig-zag manner, is not all there is of the Bells. There is in this neighborhood many such passages, which make a very interesting collection of dells and dingles.

In high water the river finds a passage around the narrow defile into a valley, and thence into its channel, a distance of about a mile. This is upon the west side of the river. From this ravine has at some time past apparently flowed in a channel farther west

The centre of interest is at the Elbow, by river men called the " Devil's Elbow." The angle of curvature is so abrupt that rafts often break up more or less in their passage. In high water it is unsafe to "run the Little Dells." The great river is here compressed to a width of 52 feet. It has a depth in low water of (55 feet, and 93 feet in high water. Its rocky banks are about 75 feet high. Upon a map of the "Territory of Ouisconsin," published by David H. Burr, in 1836, is lettered at the Elbow, " The river has high rocky banks overhanging the water, so narrow a person can jump across."

There might profitably be written many pages without exhausting the subject upon this most interesting place, but it is not the province of this " Guide Book" to entre into details.

There is a fine one at Devil's Lake, one just below the Kilbourn Dam, and one in the valley, a short distance east of King's Mills, town of Honey Creek.

Geology Of The

We quote and add a few brief words upon tins subject : "The material of the ridges (Bluffs) is mainly a dark colored quartzite ; with this in places are selicious aud talco-selicious schist and two or three kinds of conglomerate. (The color of the quartzite is of many hues, from a light gray, or an ash color, to the sombre tints above referred to). Through the whole length of the valley the dip is uniformly a little west of north ; the angle from 20° to 80°., For 20 years past brief notices have appeared in the journals of the country, the main point under discussion is, does, or does not, this metamorphic rock antedate the Potsdam sandstone. I think beyond all doubt or cavil they antedate the Potsdam epoch - it is either Huronian or Laurentian in age.

Section 1. - North and south through the south range on section) line 1 of map. A, quartzites; A, quartzites with some schists; C, conglomerate; S. P., Sauk Prairie; B. V., Barabao Yalley; L, level of lake.

The quartzite shows~in many places lamination and cross-lamination of the more modern sandstone. Many of the most distinct ripple-marks I have ever seen. The most remarkable feature of this locality is the very striking system of vertical joints which every where intersect the quartzite. The bearing of these joints are N. E. & S. W. and S. E. & N. W. These joints together with the bedding joints have cut the rock into seperate blocks weighing by calculation from 70 to 200 tons.

At Baraboo Lower Narrows the metamorphic rocks are in great force. The cliff on either side of the river which here makes a direct cut through the range from South to North, being as much as 400 feet in height. At the bottom of the hill upon the South

Geology Of The Baraboo Bluffs

Section 2. - Through North range of W, Bluff of Baraboo Narrows, A, thick-bedded dark colored quartzites, with some talco siliceous schist; B, siliceous schist; C, horizontal sandstone; B. V. Baraboo Valley.

Directly above the schist I found a horizontal undisturbed sandstone." The above is condensed from a paper that was read before the Wisconsin Academy of Arts, Science and Letters, Feb. 13th, 1872, by Holland Irving, E. M., Prof, of Geology, Mining and Metalurgy, at the University of Wisconsin.

There have been official reports made and papers published by many Scientist upon the Geology of the Baraboo Bluffs in the neighborhood of Devils Lake, D. D< Owen, U. S. Geo ; James G. Percival, Wis. St. Geo ; Daniels, do ; James Hall, do ; I. A. Lapham ; Boland Irving; James H. Eaton ; Alexander Winchell ; T. C. Chamberlain ; Warren Wood. It was, we understand, from W. Wood that A. Winchell obtained his information for the foundation of his remarks upon this region. There is at present a Geological survey in progress under charge of Dr. I. A. Lapham. We hope this point may be reached in course of the present or next season.