« ‘# q . * 7 2 -* ‘ . - - : 4 wt yw? w or * Return this book on or before the Latest Date stamped below. A charge is made on all overdue books. University of Illinois Library L161—H41 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2022 with funding from . University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Alternates - https://archive.org/details/baraboodellsdevi00cole_0 Baraboo, Dells, and Devil’s Lake Region Scenery, Archeology, Geology, Indian Legends, and Local History Briefly Treated Maps and Mlustrations Third Edition Biya Hew, ce) © alee) Baraboo, Wis. Baraboo News Publishing Company Baraboo, Wis. BY THE SAME AUTHOR “STAGECOACH AND TAVERN DAYS IN THE BARABOO REGION,” map and several pages illustrating the old hostelries, bound similar to this booklet, 50c. “BARABOO BEAR TALES,” true stories of pioneer times, boards, 50c. “BARABOO AND OTHER PLACE NAMES IN SAUK COUNTY, WISCONSIN,” how places received their names, paper, 25c. “QUEST FOR LIFE’S MEANING,” an essay, boards, 25c. Also this booklet: “BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION,” 50c. 1920 Copyright, 1,000 Copies. 1921 Copyright, 5,000 Copies. 1924 Copyright, 5,000 Copies. sss Sauk County Publishing Company Print, Baraboo, Wis. FOREWORD The following pages are intended to give but a faint hint of the scenic beauty, Indian legends, archeology, local history, and geology of the Baraboo, Dells, and Devil’s Lake region. If they add, even in a slight degree, to the pleasure of those who love the out-of-doors, and encourage the local resident as well as the visitor to inform himself concerning the numberless interesting and fascinating places of our countryside, the object for which they are written will have been at- tained. As to geology, this is a rare field for the student. The igneous rocks, the various formations resting upon them, the drift covered and driftless areas, and the work of erosion through long periods of time have combined to make the region one to which many students are at- tracted annually. The Indian earthworks, the village sites, and other relics of a race which once found delight in dwelling here, furnish a rich territory for those interested in the American aborigine. As to local history, the annals of the white man reach back to 1673 when the first known voyagers went down the Wisconsin. The inter- esting story is continuous from the days when the region was on the outer rim of civilization to the present time. Above all is this section rich in natural beauty. The hills and the numerous lakes and rivers have for years attracted tourists from every point of the compass. California and other localities boast greater elevations, larger lakes and more prominent streams, but for unique beauty there are few sections in this country that possess the attrac- tions of the Dells, Mirror Lake, Devil’s Lake, and the Baraboo Bluffs. In the preparation of these pages valuable assistance has been given by O. D. Brandenburg, long editor of the Madison Democrat; Charles E. Brown, secretary of the Wisconsin Archeological Society; Miss Louise Phelps Kellogg, member of the staff of the State Histori- cal Society of Wisconsin; C. L. Harrington, State Conservation Com- mission; Consulting Engineer W. G. Kirchoffer, Madison; W. E. Eng- lish, Wyocena; City Engineer H. E. French, Baraboo; E. A. Gilman, Portage, and others. F. T. Thwaites, member of the geological department, University of Wisconsin, has rewritten and revised nearly all of the geology in these pages, and valuable assistance has been given by M. C. Crandall of Baraboo, in bringing the booklet from the press. Geologies, local histories, and other publications have been freely used in the preparation of the text. a By) Dinad OO PEE Baraboo, Wisconsin, June 25, 1924, 1 {Q9NORoOQdD SFR FAIRY DFLI PAB SS aT 154 LOGANVILLE 136 @VHITE MOUND TALIESEN---FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT @ Map I. Double Map of Sauk and RICHLAND COUNTY Nee KILBOURN PTeTHE DELLS, DELTON = = ea NARROWS : = Ta B BLACK HAWK "patrterieto MONUMENT ; DANE COUNTY i] | 1 | i IOWA COUNTY ' = | = SORTER ree oe _— ry MAZOMANIE Portions of Adjoining Counties. CONTENTS Wisconsin River Dells, Grave of Rebel Spy.....................0.....-.-- 7 Lower) Dells. Site ‘of: Old Newport.22 a eee 27 Mirror’-Lake, (Cofigress: Hall(" 52) ee ee 33 Devil'sLake;; Scenic, Wonder3.2.-3. 0 ee ee 37 Parfrey’s-Glen;.Wildest ‘of. Them All 2232 55 Durward’s. Glen, Durward. Family 272.2 ee 58 Yellow) Thunder and Stone, Pillar. 7 2a ee 65 Pewit's Nest and Skillet) Falls. 2307 3a ee 70 Man Mound, Why Mounds Were Built......22022-2.02 2... 73 Spring Green, Jones’ State Park, Ableman...................---02........ 79 Natural’ Bridge (Near® Leland ..2. eee 90 Wisconsin Heights Battlefield, Roxbury....................2.......... 91 Portage: and Fort *Winnebag0s=--sa ee 97 Madison ‘to the! Dells. Se) 5, 203s. ee 107 Miscellaneous Placeswto $Visit.222 a. 2 109 Geology of the -Regigiitet 2.2. ee 110 MISCELLANEOUS Water Powers in the Baraboo Region.................-000.02-2.-------- 26 Roads from Baraboo to Madison.............................. ee ee 54 Memorials in Baraboo Region................ srotdnckrwens < = Go w = Cc = Map IV. The Lower Dells (Newport) Region (1) Sugar Bowl, Steamboat Rock, Inkstand, and Lone Rock in the Wisconsin River. (2) Terminal moraine. The trail between Bald Head and the river is a de- lightful woodland walk. (3) Site of the Steele Hotel. (4) Residence of House family and site of Steele sawmill on bank of Dell Creek. (5) Oval near mouth of Dell Creek is location of ferry landing, one farther up is location of boat landing, and one near- est highway represents location of a number of cellar holes and cave of Hoffman brewery, where beer was ripened. The trail along the river is a delightful one. (6) Indian village site, fireplace stones still abundant. Abraham Vanderpool (Kerfoot) residence is near the highway. The Mary Lyon Seminary was northwest of residence. (7) Brick residence at end of street during Newport’s busy days. (8) Road to Del- ton. Distillery was where ‘8’’ appears. The site of the Kingsbury mill is indicated by the circle at the top of the map. On the lawn at the Vanderpool house soldiers of the Civil War drilled and a little to the north steod the Mary Lyon Seminary. The bell from the building is now used by one of the churches in Kilbourn. Passing the bridge or other favored spots on the shore, one may see fishermen contentedly waiting for a pickerel or pike, oblivious to the passing of time and the passer-by. Across the river lay a portion of the village, a ferry being a con- venient mode of crossing the stream. The landing on the west side was but a very few rods above the confluence of the creek with the river, and a scooped-out cavity in the bank denotes where there was once lively passing. The road from the bridge leads down the bank to the ferry landing. An occasional steamboat plowed its way up the river, the landing being several rods above the mouth of Dell Creek. The place is op- posite one of the largest cellar holes, all that remains of a warehouse 32 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION of the early days. The cellar holes may be found over a considerable territory, one or two remaining in the field far toward Trunk Highway 12. The brick farmhouse on the Baraboo-Kilbourn road, nearly a mile from the river, marks the head of a street when Newport was in its prime. In these cellar holes lie buried the hopes and aspirations of many a merchant or villager. Indian Earthworks At the rear of the R. W. McFarland cottage, south of Dell Creek, may be seen an Indian earthwork of the water spirit type. In the days when Newport flourished, the land about the mound was used as a lumber yard and in that way the aboriginal relic escaped the stir and tribulations of the place. A few rods to the south, at the rear of other cottages, the rem- nant of another mound may be seen. A Woodland Walk A few rods to the southeast from the cottages, over a stile or two and across a ravine, runs a road through the deep woods, crowded with juniper, pine, oaks, birches, maples, and basswood. Here one finds a delightful walk of a little less than a mile, traversing the arboreal slope, the sandy river bed, to a weathered rock which, at flood-time, is an island in the stream. From a projecting point one obtains a view of the Sugar Bowl, Steamboat Rock, Ink Stand, Lone Rock and other delights of the Lower Dells. Just south of the wooded road, at no great distance from the cot- tages, Bald Head lifts itself above the surrounding landscape, richly rewarding one if he decides to gain its treeless crest. The terminal moraine runs south of the sylvan way, the Wisconsin River cutting through the ridge where the path approaches the stream. Beyond the river and railroad may be seen the high bank of drift. Newport was a noisy, busy place, crowded with adventurers seek- ing the gold at the foot of the elusive rainbow, stirred with martial music as the soldiers of the sixties drilled on the Vanderpool green and departed for southern fields, alive with rivermen who came and went with the departing of each vernal season, but the stillness that broods over it today gives no hint of the stirring past. The rivermen, trappers, landlords, merchants, soldiers, travelers and others who trod her streets have vapored out their brief hour and disappeared, leaving naught behind but receding records and vanished hopes. Although Newport in the days of her prosperity was the size of Kilbourn today, the time will soon come when not a single name once famous in the town will be known. It is no wonder summer visitors seek this spot in increasing num- bers year after year. The charm of lingering associations is over it and the river pathway and numberless sequestered nooks offer diversion and rest while the river extends a perpetual invitation to disciples of Walton as well as to those who enjoy the fascinations of scenery. CHAr Death Mirror Lake, Retreat of a Circusman— Earlier Bed of Dell Creek—Congress Hall Near Village Tall rocks and tufted knolls their face Could on the dark-blue mirror trace. —Lady of the Lake. T the edge of the village of Delton, ten miles north of Baraboo, on Trunk Highway 12, Dell Creek once flowed unhampered through a narrow canyon of unusual beauty. When a dam was thrown across the slender stream, a lovely lake, whose placid bosom mirrors daily the changing verdure of its banks, was created, some three miles in length. Boatmer make regular trips on the lake, always before nightfall as the narrow course requires expert piloting. So quiet are Mid-Summer Scene on Mirror Lake One has the joy of getting close to nature when taking a ride in launch or rowboat. the waters that every detail of sky and shore and passing craft is re- flected therein; often there is not a ripple, not a cat’s-paw to mar the mirror. The banks, which are high and rocky, are covered with a dense growth of pine, cedar, hemlock and many other varieties of tim- ber. Underneath is a wonderful carpet of fern and wild flowers from the meshes of which an occasional rabbit or squirrel emerges, or the drumming of a partridge is heard. Many cottages are hidden among the trees, only a few being visi- ble from the water’s edge. Most of them have an outlook over the lake but are not easily discerned through the wealth of foliage. Occasion- ally one is seen perched on an outstanding rock, thereby gaining a 33 34 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION charming view of the lake. The resinous atmosphere created by the heavy growth of pine is particularly refreshing to the city dwellers who come to this lake in increasing numbers, season after season. The slopes of the lake are the home of the trailing arbutus whose delicate pink blossoms, half-exposed, half hidden, are eagerly sought by early spring visitors. Congress Hall Canyons are the age-long product of a stream scouring a path through the re- sisting rock. Of cultivated land one sees but little, and that in the hazy distance. The axe has remained at a respectful distance from the shore, leaving the slopes natively clad. The best fishing grounds lie where the lake throws an arm to the left, as one ascends the wild, watery defile. Usually one may see BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 35 disciples of Walton grasping their rods, indifferent to the torrid sun or drenching rain. The patient anglers cast their lines right and left, fre- quently luring an unsuspecting bass or smaller fry from the undis- turbed depths. Before glacial ice covered a great portion of Wisconsin, Dell Creek probably flowed in a southeasterly direction through a gap in the north range of the Baraboo Bluffs and emptied into the Baraboo River at Baraboo. Its old bed being filled, in a manner similar to the Wiscon- sin River near the Dells, it was forced to seek a new course, cutting a canyon through the sandstone formation. Places of Interest A trip from end to end brings into view the following interesting features: The Devil’s Postoffice in a recess at the mouth of a ravine. The Devil’s Five Fingers, the only portion that is visible of a sunken tree. The limbs have been protruding from the water for al- most half a century. Echo Rock, a high promontory on the left. A distinct echo is heard opposite this interesting feature. Fern Dell, one of the most attractive.nooks in the whole region. ‘ The narrow valley, with overhanging crags, a wealth of fern clinging like a carpet to the rocky surface, and pines and birches standing thick- ly along the straitened way, is an ideal retreat on a summer’s day. The completion, in 1921, of a commodious hotel in Delton by Mrs. Eliza Ringling, adds to the convenience of those desiring to visit Mir- ror Lake, which has become a much favored resort. Mrs. Ringling’s late husband, Al. Ringling, eldest of the circusmen, spent many de- lightful days in his cottage in the wood at the upper end of this attrac tive inland body of water. Congress Hall A short distance east of the village of Delton, on the south side of the highway leading to the Wisconsin river, is Congress Hall. Here a rivulet has cut a ravine through the layers of sandstone. Early in the spring a creek finds its way through the narrow gorge, but in late sum- mer, after the May showers and June rains have passed, one may ex- plore the elongated, eroded canyon without inconvenience from mois- ture. The Hall is wildly broken and a winding path leads from the en- trance to the outlet above. Often there are spacious openings as if for rooms, narrow passages leading into other chambers ample for a con- gress to gather within them. These views are quite different from others in the region and well repay a visit. Although the limit of the ice during the glacial epoch was but a short distance to the east and although there was an abundance of water at that time, yet geologists hold that Congress Hall is the work of a post-glacial stream. ‘TO KILBOURN —» Aiea vno o EMORIAL ar BID 10 39UIxg 2PITIANSI oouvuva ANVdWOD S3I¥OLOvYy waAld f£ AWVMHOIH NOI - TOAHY) sof ow? ee” AxaL3W390 ‘ NNOLNOW 3H9OY AYAH dwOd punow ueyy TOOH)S # O aye jeioejH so younx3z ‘ «€ ‘ e ‘ 4 ‘ ‘ : ~~ e. a a ~” @ =] = : PET [eIDe|/D ue yunxg VAVT AN3IONY HO(a)) 4, 2 x o is = ® < 2 =2 =] 5 ~ a i S “i © @ = ; - = xy N39 S.ATUANVd ites, TOOHOS N3N$ KONKEL’s MILL MOVWINYSW OL SAUK COUNTY 'COLUMBIA COUNTY Map V. The Baraboo Region Note the terminal moraine extends eastward from Devil’s Lake like a _ giant’s hand. In the little cemetery on the terminal moraine are buried descendants of Wil- liam Brewster who came over, in 1620, in the Mayflower. See additional walks about Devil’s Lake in chapter on Devil’s Lake. CHAPTER IV Devil’s Lake State Park—Geology of the Hills—T he Glacial Epoch—Scenic Wonders EVIL’S LAKE is one of the outstanding places of beauty and won- der in this region of charm and interest. The placid body of water, with talused slopes and encroaching moraines, is the central object in Devil’s Lake State Park, a tract of land containing more than a thou- sand acres. Few of the visitors who come into the region escape the lure of this wonderful playground. The Park is reached by traversing three miles of concrete road from Bara- boo, the highway made possible through a _ bequest of $40,000 by the late W. W. Warner of Madison, an early resident of Bara- boo. The contract for build- ing the road was awarded in 1919, and the work was completed in 1921. The total cost of the highway was in excess of $100,000, Wisconsin, Sauk County, ‘Baraboo, and town of Bara- Doo Scromitirwp ot tee the amount unprovided for in the will. Soon after leaving the city; about a -duarter of a mile to the right, may be seen a stack of iron ore at the abandoned Cahoon Mine. The mine was open- ed in 1911 and closed in 1919 after more than a mil- lion dollars had been ex- pended. The Baraboo Val- ley from end to end_ has been pierced with the dia- mond drill and iron ore has been found beneath the sur- face in all the region, often at a depth of 400 feet. Two mines, abandoned because Leaning Rock, East of Doorway of low grade, small ore bodies, and water troubles, may be seen southwest of North Freedom and flowing wells here and there tell of the millions expended by vari- ous companies in vain efforts to persuade mother earth to yield her riches. SY 38 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Just before entering the Park one’s attention is called to the view on the left extending to the Lower Narrows of the Baraboo River and beyond to the Caledonia Hills. Within the Park the vista through the arboreal avenue is unique, immobile rocks on the right and a charming wooded slope to the left. At the first turn, within the wood, a schistose structure outcrops to the right. (This schistose is metamorphosed quartzite and traverses the rock mass to the west, outcropping in the Skillet Creek Narrows and on the West Sauk Road, Trunk Highway 12, almost two miles dis- tant.) Nearer the lake conglomerate (boulders and rock cemented to- gether, sometimes termed pudding stone), and sandstone may be ob- Lynx Mound This Indian effigy mound is situated on the terminal moraine at the north end of Devil’s Lake. For the significance of Indian mounds see the chapter on the Man Mound in this booklet. served. In the wall to the left, almost opposite the mountain path, where it leaves the concrete road, a*fine example of a boulder bearing ripple marks may be seen. (The presence of ripple marks in the rock is explained farther on in this article.) The highway through the wood and to the point where it descends the hill, is on the top of the terminal moraine, the limit of the ice sheet during the glacial epoch. The first glimpse of the lake, half-hidden by the trees below, is caught from the moraine, over the Claude cottage. On top of this ridge, toward the railroad, near where the highway begins to descend, lies an effigy Indian mound, an outline of which is here shown. A Geological Wonder of the World From the standpoint of the geologist Devil's Lake may well be regarded as a “wonder of the world”; in few other accessible localities BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 39 can so many features illustrating so many different processes in the making of the earth be studied in so small a district. The work of fire, water, air, plants, and animals finds expression in the long and varied history of the region. At the earliest time of which the record can be deciphered the region was a mountain range. Volcanoes poured out lava flows (por- phyry or rhyolite); other molten rocks did not reach the surface but cooled slowly to make rocks like granite or diorite which were once deeply buried. Other rocks were squeezed by slow upheaval of the earth’s crust until their original state cannot now be determined; these are called gneiss and schist. Geologists term this period Archean. Little or no life then existed. ~~ > ~~ + x Warner Memorial Road Wisconsin has few vistas more lovely than the ones which may be seen along this highway in Devil’s Lake State Park. The Archean mountains were attacked by streams; heat and cold broke up the rocks, and in time they were worn down to a low plain made of granite and porphyry. Then the land sank and the sea came in over the plain. At first sand was deposited and the waves left ripple marks on the soft bottom of the shallow sea. The visitor of today can find many of these well preserved on the rocks of the bluffs. The sea became deeper after nearly a mile of sand had been deposited, then mud was laid down to a thickness of several hundred feet. Next the waters became charged with iron, probably because of volcanic dis- turbances nearby, and a deposit of iron oxide and silica was made; this is called iron formation. After this, limestone was deposited, possibly by minute animals or plants. These deposits were formed in the AI- gonkian period. The Algonkian deposits were brought above the sea by compres- sion of the earth’s crust which threw them into great folds. Near 40 BARASOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Devii’s Lake the layers were tilted to an angle of only about 15 degrees but farther north they were made vertical as at: Ableman and the Bara- boo city quarry. The great folds must have been thousands of feet in height. As they were slowly upheaved, the agents of weathering and erosion worked on them making mountains as rugged as any of the Rockies. Pressure and water seeping through the rocks, meantime, changed the sand into quartzite by the deposition of silica between the grains; the clay hardened into slate, and the limestone into marble. Finally after untold ages the Algonkian mountains were almost wholly worn away; the quartzite resisted longer than the other rocks and this is why the Baraboo bluffs survived. Rib Hill and many other large bluffs in northern Wisconsin also owe their origin to the same cause. Devil’s Doorway This is one of the wonders at Devil’s Lake which has been ground out by erosion in the hopper of time. Every visitor should see the Devil’s Doorway.—Trimpey photo. The rest of the region was cut down to a fairly level surface called a peneplain. The iron formation was weathered and impurities partially dissolved away leaving some iron ore. During the Cambrian period the land once more slowly sank be- neath the sea. The Baraboo bluffs which formed a ‘monadnock” on the old peneplain thus became islands. Waves beat against them, breaking off and rolling rocks on the beach. Sand was deposited mak- ing the conglomerate and sandstone rocks now seen at the Cave, at Ableman, Parfrey’s Glen, and elsewhere. Remains of small sea ani- mals were buried in these rocks. Deposition continued throughout the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian periods to such an extent that be- fore the waters withdrew the islands were completely buried unde1 sandstone, limestone, and shale (see geological column, last chapter in this booklet). This time no mountains were formed but the uplift was quiet and gentle. The new land was a plain upon which rivers began BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 41 to form their beds. Among them was the Wisconsin River. As this river cut into the rather soft rocks, it at length came to the hard quartz- ite of East Bluff. This formed an obstruction and therefore a rapids at the foot of which pot holes were scoured out by swirling pebbles. These are seen on the top of East Bluff; the pebbles contain fossils of the Silurian period showing that rocks of that age, which are now not found nearer than Blue Mounds, once covered the entire region. North and south of the Baraboo quartzite bluffs the Wisconsin River and its tributaries cut wide valleys in the relatively soft sandstone and lime- stone. Where the river crossed the quartzite it was fortunate in find- ing for part of its course an old valley made before Cambrian time and filled with softer rock, sandstone, than on either hand. This valley it cleared out and deepened; only a part of the Devil’s Lake gorge was eroded through quartzite since Silurian times. A large part of the old quartzite hills were stripped of the covering of softer rocks. The bluffs ee ee Turk’s Head Thousands of tourists testify to the wonderful charm and beauty of the scene from this quartzite formation overlooking Devil’s Lake. are often spoken of as the resurrected roots of old mountains, moun- tains far older than the Rockies, Alps, or Appalachians. The Devil’s Lake valley was then about 900 feet deep. Traversed by a great river and lined with slopes of huge quartzite blocks loosened by frost it must have been a scene rivaling in grandeur anything in most mountain lis- tricts, but one on which human eyes never rested. . Then came the glacier, creeping from the north down the Green Bay valley and spreading out so that it approached Devil’s Lake from slightly north of east. The ice overtopped the quartzite as far west as Point Sauk and on the lower ground two tongues extended _ several miles farther west, one of them over the site of Baraboo, the other up the old Wisconsin Valley north of Devil’s Nose. At the edge of the ice there accumulated a huge ridge of boulders, sand, gravel, and earth, 42 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION the terminal moraine. The moraine of the last glacier stretches all the way from Long Island across to the Rocky Mountains. Owing to the splitting over Point Sauk and Devil’s Nose it crossed the old course of the Wisconsin River twice within a space of a mile and a half (see Map V). Between these two crossings a basin was left whose floor is about 400 feet above the rock bottom of the valley. In this basin lies Devil’s Lake. The wind then carried dust from the newly deposited drift and coated much of the bluffs with a yellowish clay called loess. fle ome 2 Be so00/io0 ROAD os [| 8 eh ime a MELTER a O ie Kesar os Indian Mounds This group of one effigy and five linear earthworks is located at the north end of Devil’s Lake. The two near the railroad may have been one mound- severed when the line was built. _ Thus it has come about that within a few miles the student can observe the records of two ancient mountain chains, can study the de- position of rocks by the sea, the work of weathering and erosion, of mountain making, vulcanism, and glaciation. The district is visited every year by classes from the universities of Chicago, Wisconsin, Ilk- nois, Northwestern, and Iowa. © The great boulders about the lake are not the result of a sudden upheaval nor were they brought here by a glacier. They are the re- sult of the material supporting them being carried away by erosion, permitting them to fall as you see them about the lake at the present time. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 43 The Lake at Present The following applies to the lake as it is today: Above sea level—about 960 feet. Above the river at Baraboo—about 120 feet. Height of West Bluff above the lake—about 500 feet. Height of East Blutf above the lake—a little less than 500 feet, near the lake, 660 feet at Point Sauk. Height of South Bluff—at Devil’s Nose, 495 feet. Source of supply—springs and two small creeks. Outlet—evaporation and seepage. Area draining into the lake—about 5% square miles. Greatest length—114 miles. Average width—2,200 feet or 2-5 of a mile. Greatest depth—43 feet. Average depth—30 feet. Circumference—3%4 miles. Area—388 acres, or 3-5 of a square mile. Volume at low water—3,495,000 gallons. Wells at Devil’s Lake Three deep wells have been sunk in the Devil’s lake gap, none of which reached the ancient river bed. The three wells, with their depth, are as follows: a bie: wAaRnkR Indian Mounds This group of Indian Mounds is located in front of the Claude cottage at the north end of Devil’s Lake. The effigy crossed by the drive has been almost destroyed. American Refractories’ Company well, one mile east of lake, 285 feet. State Park well at end of Warner Memorial Road, 283 feet. L. D. Prader well several rods due north of last named well, 100 feet. Walks at Devil’s Lake But few of the many places of interest at Devil’s Lake may be seen trom boat or car. The time required to encircle the lake, following the trails over the East and West Bluffs, is about four hours. Every step in advance along the wooded ways, every corner among the weathered 44 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION rocks, every turn of the path as one makes the ascent, discloses points of interest in the landscape. By exploring the by-paths about the re- gion, one may fill many vacation days walking over these pre-Cambrian rocks tumbling down on the hillsides. East Bluff Trail Between the railroad track and where the path begins its ascent of the East Bluff, stood the Cliff House, a pioneer hotel on the shore of the lake. In the historic structure many a noted traveler tarried. Among these were General U. S. Grant, son Frederick Dent Grant, Devil’s Lake From An Aeroplane This view shows the dense forest on the south bluff. Baraboo is in the distance. later Colonel Grant, who were here September 8, 1880; Mrs. Abraham Lincoln in 1873, and many others. The Cliff House was the scene of numerous social activities, Baraboo folk often mingling with the visit- ors to the region. The famous structure was touched by misfortune approaching the tragic in the case of Mrs. Alice Whiting Waterman who, in company with P. B. Parsons, refurnished the hostelry. The savings of Mrs. Waterman, amounting to some $18,000, were lost in the venture. Mrs. Waterman sleeps in “Confederate Rest,’ a lot in the Madison cemetery containing the graves of 139 Southern soldiers who died while imprisoned at Camp Randall. The last fragment of her fortune, some $800, was given to purchase a coping about the lot and at her death in 1897, at the age of 77, she was buried there. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 45 W. B. Pearl was the last landlord of the Cliff House, leaving the place in 1904. The hotel, annex and other buildings were razed soon after. The first pause of interest along the scenic, twisting trail, as one ascends this bluff is Elephant Rock. This huge reclining pachyderm is an unusual freak of nature’s chisel. The rock is sandstone. Just back of Elephant Rock is the Cave, where may be seen some of the quartzite boulders rounded by the waves of the ancient Cambrian Sea. The top of the quartzite, on which the conglomerate rests, is the old sea shore, made smooth by the restless waves of that early time. When the conglomerate was laid down the bluffs were islands in the ocean and the pebbles of quartzite were worn by the action of the water. Aeroplane View of Devil’s Lake The foreground is at the north end of this charming body of water. ' Passing onward along the path from Elephant Rock, the pedes- trian will see more of the conglomerate as he hugs the cliff, and the fantastic roots twining in and out will not be passed unobserved. Not far away is Tomahawk Rock, standing erect over the brow of the cliff, just as if placed there by some giant of other times. Up and down winds the way until a point is reached where the ancient river valley turned to the eastward. Half way down the pre- cipice, (reached by a fearsome path, but you can make it if you are an expert mountaineer) is Balanced Rock, a huge piece of elongated quart- zite, shaped much like an inverted dash churn of log cabin days, big at the top and little at the bottom. From the location of Balanced Rock or from the top of the bluff above, may be obtained an airy view of the valley. On the south brink of the Bluff, near where the path turns to the eastward, may be seen ripple marks in the quartzite, fossils of wave ac- tion in early geologic time. 46 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION To the east a few hundred paces is the Devil’s Doorway, a quaint arrangement of rocks left as the result of the washing away of the stones and earth through long periods of rain and frost. Just east of the Doorway, on top of the Bluff, the careful observer will find a number of potholes, rounded places in the hard quartzite. WARNER: MEMORIAL €-TO TRUNK HiCHWAY 12 ’ ion Gast A s TERMINAL’ MORAINE) F=4' bas, as 7 own —_—-—-—_—— =(= SKILLET -- Di hee a AS e e he = CREEK uf? i Be ee ree ri 2) *, ‘A e 3 ~ oo: s i alas’. % coe SST SPRING s ae SM ELEPHANT ROCK AND CAVE 0 ’ © aa at rs x6 » TOMAHAWK ROCK, Be. ens Sever t ei, s ni =* ep, | iif ° VE >) ! p 7 asu l > 7 if . ‘O} =, % >o c INK “Op 46 Vi ¢€ Sha aace wz «(4G TO TRUNK: "4 7Op A So zo Se = : HIGHWAY 12 TS 3 Hey 7. 2:5 a) a = 19 = ae . Mie SPRING ~ SOreggnet 11,2 2 } . tary , ty j ae Pe ae tH, BSS | t l IMI presen teeter tsseunny | i | xt DEVIL'S NOSE EA'97] SAUK ROAD oh . 2 is a aL > 2I | ms g =a oom eles? hes a" Ah PARK BOUNDARY Pane vl | ~ <| : Ow eas 1 \ TO PINE HOLLOW Map VI. Devil's Lake and Surroundings. (1) Indian Effigy Mound of the lynx type. (2) Vest Pocket Park. (3) Indian mounds; a group of cottages. (5) Alaskan Grotto. By going into the depression near the rocks on a warm day one may feel the cold air escaping. (6) Group of In- dian mounds. These were undoubtedly once in the bed of a river, where a waterfall was an interesting object on the landscape. Potholes can be made in no way except by running or falling water whirling stones about. When the stream was here there could have been no Devil’s Lake gap. As the visitor comes to a depression, river gravels are seen, another evidence there was once a stream at this height. Concerning these pebbles Professors R. D. Sailsbury, William C. Alden, A. C. Trobridge and others have written. To visit the Leaning Tower one should continue about one-eighth of a mile to the eastward. The inclined pile of quartzite rocks, weath- ered and circular in form, may be seen by looking over the brink of the Bluff. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 47 The descent of the Bluff is over the river gravels mentioned in the preceding paragraph. Reaching the trees below and keeping close to the rocks, Alaskan Grotto will be seen a few rods to the west. Ifa warm day, go into the depression and feel the flood of cold air pouring outward. The Great Stone Face This unusual object at Devil’s Lake is below the Turk’s Head on the west shore. Crossing the railroad track to the shore of the lake, the large bird effigy mound will be noted near the hotel, marked by a bronze tablet. The length of the body is about 115 feet and the wingspread about 240 feet. West Bluff Trail On the West Bluff may be seen Cleopatra’s Needle, the Turk’s Head, Great Stone Face (below the Turk’s Head) and other points of interest. The top of the bluff is often called Palisade Park, so named by A. R. Ziemer who platted several acres with the idea of establishing a summer city here. After exploiting the place for two seasons he died Three Wonders at Devil’s Lake Balanced Rock, Cleopatra’s Needle and Elephant Rock are among the wonders wrought by nature’s architect at Devil’s Lake. Elephant Rock is of sandstone, the others are of quartzite. Balanced Rock is about half way up the bluff from the boat landing at Kirkland, Cleopatra’s Needle is on the West Bluff, and Elephant Rock near the cave on the East Bluff. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 49 in 1895 in his cottage, the ruins of which may be seen near the brink south of Prospect Point. His home was in Milwaukee and he was educated at the University of Wisconsin. During the same years he erected an observation tower north of Prospect Point, Marsh & Jack- son building a double cottage and Charles Coleman a smaller one. All are now in ruin, a chimney standing like a gray ghost of a departed life. From Prospect Point, about half way along the West Bluff, may be obtained ore of the delectable panoramas in the region. Standing about 500 feet above the surface of the lake, one obtains a view of the eastern part of the city of Baraboo, lower portion of the Baraboo Val- ley, North Range, Lower Narrows, Pine Bluff (far down the valley), Point Sauk (1620 feet high), East Bluff, valley towards Devil’s Nose, South Bluff, and other portions of the locality. Additional Devil’s Lake Walks Besides the walks over the east and west bluffs of the lake, others of greater or less length may be taken. Some of them are here indi- cated: View of Devil’’s Lake Beyond moves a giant shadow, like a silent spirit, across the landscape. 1. To Koshawagos Spring, a short distance from the southwest corner of the lake. The spring takes its name from the Koshawagos Club House hard by, the name meaning, “Men of the Valley.” By fol- lowing the trail up the valley one comes to another spring near the path. 2. One may walk along the East Sauk Road (see map VI) to the brink of the hill, two or more miles to the south. Pine Hollow is but a short distance to the west. Over this road rolled the Concord stages before the advent of the railroad in 1871. 3. To plant of American Refractories Company one mile east of lake. 4. To Parfrey’s Glen, five miles east of the lake. (See Map V.) 5. Point Sauk, three miles, and Durward’’s Glen ten miles. Read chapter on Durward’s Glen. (See map V.) 50 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 6. To Indian mounds between the lake and Baraboo, going along road east of railroad track. Mounds in woods at rear of house with row of six evergreens in front—back from road. 7. Walk along the road east of railroad track to crossing near Baraboo, go east to first road to right after passing school house, and follow this road through woods and over stream. (See map V.) 8. From lake follow Warner Memorial Road a little more than half way toward Baraboo, then turn to left to iron mine. 9. After leaving the park on the Warner Memorial Road, go to bottom of hill, then turn due west about one mile. Indian mounds and Skillet Creek Narrows will be found to the left. (Leave the highway. at [fe Scene at Devil’s Lake There is nothing this side of the Yellowstone to compare with Devil’s Lake State Park in beauty and wonder. The beautiful lake and picturesque rock formations com- bine in making one of the foremost playgrounds of the continent, visited by thousands of tourists annually. the top of a hill overlooking level land to the west.) After traversing a lane about one-quarter of a mile in length, a bear mound will be found to the left and two other mounds between the bear and the _ stream. Note the schistose formation of rock in the narrows. (See map V.) 10. To Skillet Creek Falls. Enter over fence from the road to the south. (See map V.) 11. To reach Pewit’s Nest follow the same highway, making two turns to right and entering at school house. The place is at the end of a valley. 12. Over the south bluff of the lake. The view is largely cut off because the trail is back from the brink of the bluff. 13. To Baxter Hollow, west of Highway 12. To visit this place requires af entire day if made by walking. ’ BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 51 14. The graves of descendants of William Brewster, who came over in the Mayflower in 1620, are in a small cemetery on the terminal moraine northeast of Devil’s Lake. (See map V.) Samuel Brewster, whose name appears on the stone, died in Indiana, in 1837, and was buried there. His wife, Lucy Brewster, died in Greenfield, near the cemetery, and was buried there. M. Brewster also died in Indiana and was buried there while W. Brewster died on the farm where the ceme- tery is located. The stone was placed by Edmund Brewster, who at one time attempted to erect a paper mill at one of the Baraboo River water powers. Other trips about the lake may also be taken. Tragedies at Devil’s Lake When the great number of people who visit the lake are consid- ered, the tragedies have been few. About 1900, a woman bather died of heart disease at the south end of the lake and about the same time ’ e ‘ eM ins ey WY Bird Mound at Kirkland Hotel This Indian effigy earthwork has a length of body of about 115 feet and a wing- spread of about 240 feet. a quarry worker who had imbibed too freely fell into the water one night at the north end and lost his life. On Sunday afternoon, March 26, 1916, two students from the Uni- versity.of Chicago, Miss Caroline Duror, aged 23, of New York City, and Miss Lola B. Whitmore, aged 25, of Utica, New York, were struck by a train at one of the curves north of the Kirkland Hotel. Both were instantly killed, one of the young women being thrown from the track upon the ice which then covered the lake. It was a stormy day and the two either did not hear the train until too late or thought it was on the other track. Trains on the Chicago & Northwestern railway advance on the left track, while in the eastern states, from which the two students came, the outgoing trains take the right track. Both came to the region as geological students. The remains of Miss Duror were sent to Camden, New Jersey, and those of Miss Whitmore lie in an unmarked grave in the Baraboo cemetery. On the night of August 15, 1921, Miss Minnie Voiles, a daughter of Mrs. Addie Voiles, Baraboo, and Clarence M. Williams, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Williams, Madison, were drowned from a boat not far from the West Bluff. A third in the boat, Walter M. Fields, Madi- 52 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION son, narrowly escaped. After four days the body of the young lady was recovered and after five days that of the young man was brought to the surface. Indian Mounds The following Indian mounds may be seen in Devil’s Lake State Park: Bird effigy at the Kirkland Hotel. Lynx effigy on top of the north terminal moraine. Group in front of the Claude Cottage, north end of lake. Linear between sidewalk and home of superintendent, north end of lake. Group among cottages east of concrete road. Bathing Scene at Devil's Lake Where tourists halt in their journey for a plunge into the cool waters along a sandy shore. All of the mounds but one linear are outlined on these pages. As to why the mounds were built see the chapter on The Man Mound. The baseball ground, the land between the pavillion and _ the stream, was once an Indian village site, pieces of flint, fireplace stones and other objects being frequently found there. Indian Legends The Indians sometimes called Devil's Lake by the name of Ta- wah-cun-chuk-dah—Sacred Lake—no bad meaning. Here is a tradition: Long years ago a good Winnebago went on the bank of the lake, offering his devotions aloud and crying to the Su- preme Being for twenty days, fasting meanwhile—when_ he saw an animal resembling a cat rise up to the surface. Hearing the Indian’s sorrow the cat told him he would help him to live a long and happy life. He did live long. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 53 The prayer or worship was called “haah-tock-ke-nutch.” The animal was called Wock-cheth-thwe-dah—with long tail and_ horns. Many others also saw this animal. Another Indian legend of this lake, obtained from a former Win- nebago Indian resident of the region, states that a quarrel arose be- tween the waterspirits or underground panthers, (Wa-kja-kee-ra), who rr sodudueucnen ts satpro teases eve beat a": ers. e neta tarps wes eer ee aan ths Cliff House, Devil’s Lake General U. S. Grant, Mrs. Abraham Lincoln and other notables were once en- tertained in this building, pulled down coon after 1904. inhabited its depths, and the thunderbirds. The latter, flying above its surface hurled their great eggs (thunderbolts) into the waters and on the bluffs. The fight continued for days. The falling eggs tore down the trees and split off great pieces and masses of rock and the present tumbledown and cracked rocky surface of the surrounding bluffs stands as evidence of this great struggle. The thunderbirds were finally vic- torious and flew away to their homes in the North. No Indian dared approach the lake for a long time. The waterspirits were not all kill- ed and some remain in the lake to this day. 54 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION History On the early maps the name of the lake is given as Lake of the Hills. Of it I. A. Lapham, early Wisconsin traveler and _ scientist, wrote: “The lake is vulgarly called Devil’s Lake from the wild, rocky place in which it is found.” John T. de Le Ronde, born in France in 1802, agent for the Amer- ican Fur Company, and a visitor at Devil’s Lake in 1832, the earliest record of the lake being visited, wrote, in the History of Columbia County, 1880, as follows: “T went and saw the Devil’s Lake, which is a little south of the village of Baraboo. The lake is surrounded by high bluffs and I could not see the sun until about 10 or 11 o’clock in the forenoon, and it would disappear from view about 2 or 3 o’clock, so hemmed in by bluffs is this romantic body of water. The Indians gave it the name of Holy Water, declaring that there is a spirit or Manitou that resides there. I saw a quantity of tobacco that the Indians had deposited there for the Manitou. The French voyageurs denominated it Devil’s Lake, from the sound resembling hammering and tinkling of a bell that we hear all the time, and from the darkness of the place.” Notwithstanding the statement by de La Ronde, the Indian name for Devil’s Lake is usually given as Minnewaukan, or Evil Spirit Lake. As the French visitor stated, the lake has unusual echoing powers and for this reason, it is said, the Indians supposed the bluffs to be inhab- ited by powerful spirits or manitous. Nestling near the West bluff is the home of the late L. W. Claude, who came from Ambleside, England, to the lake in pioneer times. The rugged beauty of the spot recalled the charm of his former home in the fascinating Lake Region and, with his family, he enjoyed the lake for many years. The interesting home is now occupied by the family during the summer season. These ragged rocks and towering cliffs are most overpowering when viewed from a boat coastng along the western shore of the lake. An adequate description of this picturesque spot is not attempted here. The life in the lake, the ferns and flowers on the slope, the fur- coated and feather-coated friends in the woods, as well as the charm of the lake itself in its unusual environment, are left for the enjoyment of the visitor. “The mountain’s wall in the water, It looks-like a great blue cup, And the sky looks like another, Turned over, bottom side up.” ROADS FROM BARABOO TO MADISON For variety any of the following routes may be taken in order to reach Madison, starting from Baraboo. Baraboo, Sauk City, Roxbury, Middleton. Baraboo, Sauk City, Mazomanie, Middleton. Baraboo, Prairie du Sac, Lodi. Baraboo, Prairie du Sac, Gibraltar Bluff, Lodi, Mendota. Baraboo, Merrimack (ferry), Lodi, Mendota. Baraboo, Portage, Poynette. Baraboo, Portage, Wyocena. CHAR! Ria Paifrey’s Glen, Wildest of Them All, A Cool Retreat, Prodigal in Charm ARFREY’'S Glen is a rugged gash in the south range of the Bara- boo Bluffs. This ravine, an interesting objective for tourists, is about a mile down the slope from Wawanissee Point and some five or six miles east of Devil’s Lake. It derives its name from Robert Par- frey, an early settler. The little stream which has cut this wildly beautiful Glen had a romantic history of usefulness in the early days. At the present time it is secondary in interest to the Glen itself, the first glimpse of which enthralls the visitor, urging him to journey to the end. The route from Baraboo to Parfrey’s is along the Merrimack road in a south-east direction. It leads up a bluff, then down on the opposite side, turning to the left and clinging close to the base of the elevation for some two miles, until it turns into the farmstead of August Roese, located a quarter of a mile north of the main highway. Here the car is abandoned. To reach the Glen a tramp of half a mile is necessary, along a trail which leads over glacial boulders, across a mountain stream, and up a winding way to the opening. The view, as one pro- gresses, includes a charming expanse of rich countryside. Wildest of Them All Compared with other glens of the region, Parfrey’s is by far the wildest. The south wall of this ancient cleft in the bluff is almost per- pendicular. Only occasionally does an overhanging ledge afford a foot- ing for wood creature or habitation for shrub or fern. High above pines, birches, oaks and other small timber crowd the brink. The cut shows a mass of sandstone and quartzite conglomerate which have been exposed through a long period of erosion. The north slope is clothed in green. Rugged rocks lie along the purling stream, as if cast there by giant hands to impede the pathway. Between them flourish ferns, mosses, and an interesting number of native plants. Looking down from the top of the opening the water winds in and out among the moss-clad stones, like a translucent ribbon, making soft. music whose melody is lost as the stream finds its way to the grass- land. Many birds haunt the Glen; the indigo bunting, the oriole, and scarlet tanager with their brilliant colorings contrast sharply with the neutral tones of the rocks. The note of the song sparrow, the trill of the thrush, and the less marked twitter of many other songsters are heard with delightful frequency. This cool retreat, so prodigal in charm and comparatively easy of access, should be more widely known than it is to visitors to the Bara- boo region. ~ Mill, a Memory In the early days the Glen-stream was harnessed to a sawmill lo- cated near the ravine. Evidences of the ancient, earthen dam are visi- ble to this day. In later years Fred Roper’s gristmill made use of the power for some time, serving the surrounding community. A story which illustrates the extent of these activities, particularly that of the gristmill, is often related. It seems that the miller was one day greatly 55 56 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION puzzled at the non-appearance of flour as his wheel ground round and round. Searching for the cause, it is said, he finally came upon an in- truder, no other than a small gray mouse, wiggling his tail and squeal- ing for more, as he devoured the product of the mill as fast as it sifted Scene in Parfrey’s Glen This view, about five miles east of Devil’s Lake, is considered the wildest in the region. through. Also it is told that prior to the Civil War, a distillery, by the aid of the little stream, converted rye from the neighboring fields into “Mountain Dew.” During this time the Glen seemed in grave danger of becoming a popular resort for all those suffering with barleycorn BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 57 thirst and a desire for seclusion. Fortunately for the reputation of the locality, a revenue tax on-distilled spirits was imposed and the existence of the worm in the wilderness was brief. During the time whiskey was made there was more or less travel from the direction of the village of Merrimack and the highway became known as “the still road.” Save for the turt-covered ruins of the ancient dam, all record of the early enterprises is obliterated and memories of the Glen’s activi- ties alone remain. MEMORIALS IN THE BARABOO REGION Stone pillar where Chief Yellow Thunder is buried, north of Bara- boo. Bronze tablet at Man Mound. Bronze tablet on Bird Mound in Devil’s Lake State Park. Bronze tablet on Lynx Mound in Devil’s Lake State Park. Bronze tablets at city limits and Devil’s Lake, end of Warner Memorial Road. Bronze tablet to first church in Baraboo, corner Broadway and Fifth Avenue. Bronze tablet to first school in Baraboo, near corner Seventh Avenue and West Streets. Boulder to first house in Baraboo, southwest corner Ochsner Park. Tablets in Episcopal and Presbyterian Churches, also library, in Baraboo. Grand Army of the Republic monument in front of courthouse, Baraboo. Tree to mark where Paquette fell, West Cook and Mac Streets, Portage. Bronze tablet to soldiers and sailors, at Sauk City, end of river bridge. Bedford Stone memorial at Wisconsin Heights Battlefield, two miles from Sauk City. Granite memorial to D. C. Reed, founder of Reedsburg, in park at Reedsburg. Bronze memorial on Van Hise Rock, at Ableman. Paquette marker on cellar window of Baptist Parsonage at Portage. Granite marker where Joliet and Marquette reached the Wisconsin River at Portage. Bronze tablet on back of above marker to mark Wauona Trail. Boulder and tablets to mark site of Fort Winnebago. Boulder at entrance of Fort Winnebago Cemetery. CHARLIE R Vi Durward’s Glen—A Short History of the Durward Family—Attractive Features of Interesting Place THE SHRINE Within a temple vast, not made with hands, Far up the rugged mountain slope it stands, Fern-draped, before its birchen reredos; An altar gray, vested with robe of moss, In whose soft folds the jewelled dewdrops gleam. Hard by, a restless stream, ; Deft acolyte, unversed in human creeds, Pauses to tell its beads In murmured accents low; then hastens on, As one who, having sought a benison, Resumes his humble task. Along the banks Cluster the dark-robed firs in sombre ranks, Their crosses all uplift. Upon the air Laden with forest perfumes rare Slow rise the morning mists; and, hush! From his lone cell unseen the hermit-thrush, Even as the clouds of incense drift away, Chants his clear matins to the new-born day.* —Willis Boyd Allen. From Baraboo to Durward’s Glen is a trip of exceptional interest and scenic beauty. The ten mile drive over a picturesque highway which stretches along the back bone of the south range of the Baraboo Bluffs affords rare glimpses of open valleys and wooded slopes, with the Wisconsin River visible in the distance. The Glen, the erstwhile home of the gifted Durward family, is a delightful retreat where the visitor is welcome to spread his lunch by the murmuring trout stream and enjoy the natural beauty of the spot with its charm of interesting association. Way to the Glen In journeying to the Glen, variety of view is obtained by taking the road, from Baraboo, on top of the bluffs and returning by the main highway. The Merrimack road leads via Ringlingville, through Glen- ville, and on up the bluff to the flat about three miles from town. Fol- lowing the first turn to the left a level tract is soon noticed on the right, opposite a German Lutheran church and public school. On the unbroken surface once reposed a glacial lake, hemmed in on one side by ice and on the other by the hills. But a short distance beyond, on the left, kettle holes (cavities left by melting blocks of ice) may be seen. Also the terminal moraine, a ridge of land but a few rods away, *From Scribner’s Magazine for October, 1920; copyright 1920 by Charles Scribner’s Sons. 58 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 59 About two miles from the church, where the road curves slightly to the right, a by-road disappears between a farmhouse aid barn, for- merly the P. Fitzsimmons homestead. Less than a quarter of a mile from the main road, to the right as one proceeds, is Point Sauk, the highest point of land in Sauk county, 1,620 feet. Here one obtains an extensive view. Three Views in Durward’s Glen The roof burned from the chapel in a fire which swept over a portion of the prop- erty on May 3, 1923. Continuing on the main road less than a half-mile, Wawanissee Point is reached and the prospect from this roof of the region is im- pressive. Lake Wisconsin may be seen in the hazy distance, the vil- lage of Merrimack being hidden on the right. With a glass the capital dome at Madison, 285 feet high, the highest but one in the United States and the highest but three in the world, nearly thirty miles away, may be seen almost due south on the horizon. 60 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Stepping into the wooded pasture and ascending a knoll, a won- drous view is enjoyed. The checkered farms, the shimmering lake, the distant hills, combine in making one of the most charming pictures of the region. Wawanissee is an Indian word which means beauty or beautiful. On a ‘summer evening there is presented an ever changing picture of fading cloud and deepening twilight, numberless hues ap- pearing as darkness falls. To the left, this side of the river, the Owl’s Head, a knot on an elevation, lifts itself above the surrounding country. Turning to the left at the T in the road, swinging to the right at the first turn, the way but a few rods from the T, leads directly to Dur- ward’s Glen. There one stops by a gate at the left, after crossing a bridge at the bottom of a hill. : On the above route there is a very steep decline and an easier grade for a car will be found by going due north from the T in the road, turn- ing to the right at the school. If this road is pursued stop the car when a cluster of pine trees is seen at the edge of a wood and rear of a farm house to the right. Enter the wood through a gate and the ruins of the chapel will soon be reached. (See Map V.) The Durwards Bernard I. Durward, a professor, poet and painter, was born at Montrose, Scotland, and married Margaret Hilyard in the Episcopal church at Manchester, England. They came to America and some time after, at the request of a friend, Joshua Hathaway of Milwaukee, Mr. Durward painted a portrait of Archbishop Henni. While engaged on the picture the artist was converted to Catholicism. He often remarked that while he got the bishop’s picture, the bishop got him. The portrait, with one of Mr. Hathaway, is now in the possession of the State His- torical Society of Wisconsin, at Madison. It was in 1845 that the father, mother, and two sons came from England to Wisconsin, then a territory. They reached Milwaukee without funds but provision for the family was soon assured by an or- der for a portrait from a merchant of the city. Before making Milwau- kee their home, however, the family spent a short time in Dodge Coun- ty and of his experience a son, Rev. Fr. J. T. Durward, has written: “Indians being then plentiful and Cooper’s tales the popular read- ing, it was no place for a young wife and children, so he rented a house in Milwaukee; his profession also requiring the more populous locality.” While the family resided in Milwaukee the father painted portraits and occupied the chair of belles letters in St. Francis Seminary. But the ebullitions of life in a city, even the size of Milwaukee, disturbed the artistic mind and the painter sought seclusion in a retreat amongst the Caledonia Hills at the Glen. Like Thoreau, politics, palaces and paved streets had no lure for his aesthetic temperment; his desire was to escape from the pinchbeck gods. The Sons and Daugfters Frederick, afterwards called Bernard, was born in England and died at Riverside, Milwaukee. Percy, the future artist, known as Charles, was born in England and died at the Glen from eating water hemlock. He employed an ‘“‘o” in his name, spelling it Dorward. (Sir Walter Scott and other writers of the time wrote it Durward and during the so-called reformation it was spelled Dorward. After moving to the Glen most of the members of the family changed to the earlier spelling.) BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 61 Emerson, afterwards Rev. Fr. John Thomas, was born in Milwau- kee and died in Baraboo in 1918. For many years he had charge of St. Joseph’s church in the city, supervised the erection of the present edi- fice, and wrote a number of books, “Holy Land and Holy Writ,” “Dur- ward’s Life and Poems,” and others. Emma Theresa, the first daughter, was born and died in Milwau- kee. The baby’s funeral was by boat and interment was on the Dur- ward property in that city. Allan, afterwards Rev. James Durward of St. James Church, St. James, Minnesota, is the owner of the Glen, but continues to reside atistoames, Wilfred J. Durward, taxidermist, photographer, and author of “Annals of the Glen,” was born in Milwaukee. For many years his home has been near Tacoma, Washington, where he married in 1919. Andrew, born in Milwaukee, resides near Tacoma, Washington. His marriage was solemnized in the Glen chapel. Miss Mary Thecla Durward was born at the Glen and now resides in Tacoma, Washington. When the Durward family came from Milwaukee in a one-horse wagon in 1862, crossing the Wisconsin River at Portage, the Glen was reached on November 1, All Saint’s Day. Near the trout stream which flows through the Glen and close to the first stepping-stones, is a Maltese Cross cut in the hard sandstone to commemorate their arrival. Just above is the Guardian of the Glen, a bit of art in nature’s wild. Continuing up the stream to the boundary of the Glen property, the brook laughs over the projecting stones. Just below is the Weep- ing Ledge and as the author of “The Annals of the Glen” remarks: “Here one sees that the Glen is indeed “Filled with streams forever weeping, Through the rocks in mossy rills.” When B. I. Durward led visitors to the spot, if there were young ladies in the company, he would roguishly remark: “Bathe your brows at the ledge and you will forever be beautiful.” Seldom a miss neg- lected the opportunity. St. Mary’s of the Pines Ascending the hill by a slender path one reaches St. Mary’s of the Pines, standing on a knoll. Here occasionally there has been a bap- tism, a marriage, and a funeral, three important events in the life of man. The chapel was erected by the family, neighbors and friends in 18606. Two of the sons, James and John, said their first mass_ here. (James was ordained at Collegeville, Minnesota, and John at St. Fran- cis, Milwaukee.) Charles, the artist, the father and mother, Father John, as well as others have been buried from it, and one son, Andrew, was married here. Thé station shrines encircling the chapel and the cemetery are from designs by Delaroche and others. They were painted by Charles and erected in 1889. Returning from a trip to Palestine that year, Father John brought a little soil from the site of the stations in the Via Dolo- rosa at Jerusalem, ‘‘and this was incorporated in these making this hill- top a veritable Holy Land.” 62 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION The father, mother, and two sons sleep on the slope in front of the boulder-made church. The inscriptions for the elder Durwards read: Bernard I. Durward Theresa M. Durward ‘ Poet Mother of Priests Painter, Professor oer Born March 26, 1817 SE ae Died April 22, 1907 March 21, 1902 Cut into the rock beneath the inscriptions may be seen the favorite flowers of the father and lace, crucifix, and prayer book of the mothér. The inscriptions for the priest and his brother, the artist, read: Peat Charles Dorward Born none March 7, 1847 Died Sept. 27, 1844 Sept. 9, 1918 : He Wrought in Words and Died Builded of Stone and by Nov. 12, 1875 Grace in the Hearts of Men Fire in the Glen The roof and other combustible portions of the chapel were burned on May 3, 1923. At that time a few of the stations and some of the trees were either consumed or damaged. The fire originated near an automobile standing to the east in the highway. Freshet Is Disturbing When the family first came to the Glen, a little cabin that stood between the bridge, near the spring, and the cliff, was their home. One night a storm arose and the flood of ice, snow and water came pouring through the family shelter. The sleepers were aroused by the onrush and there was much commotion within. As related in “The Annals,” one of the urchins, when the lightning flashed, caught sight of the flood from the top of the stair and cried out with pessimistic instinct that af- terwards distinguished him: “O we're all killed, we're all killed.” The trap door of the cellar floated open on its hinges, and a con- fused medley of carrots, beets, onions, and turnips were vomited out, while the rats clung to the grain bags and had to be knocked off into the water. In this cottage the daughter, Mary Thecla, was born and in his venerable years the father kept a rosebush growing there to mark the spot. The family garden was then between the brook and the wooded slope. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 63 | BROTHER OR SISTER THINK OF HIM The Fountain A refreshing spring flows year after year into the basin of this artistic piece of masonry. The Fountain Ceaselessly flows the fountain by the path across the bridge. The fountain was erected by the family in memory of their friends and literary heroes. The Christian and Jewish years will be noticed cut in the stones at the base. The star at the top of the keystone is for Miss Eliza Allen Starr, a friend of the family. She resided in Chicago for many years and gave parlor lectures on art. A. de V is for Aubrey Thomas de Vere (1814-1902), the Irish poet and miscellaneous writer. He was a son of Sir Aubrey de Vere, also an Irish poet. 64 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION The Greek delta is the nom de plume under which the poet wrote. On the right, B is for James Booth, a carver and gilder. He was a friend of Mr. Durward in Manchester, England, and later came to New York. P is for Coventry Kersey Dighton Patmore (1823-1896), the Eng- lish Catholic poet. He is best known as the author of “The Angel in the House.” Val Zimmerman, represented by the Z, was a merchant friend of the poet in Milwaukee. The sign for his store was the blue flag. Captain John Nader, Madison, was a civil engineer and under his direction the wingdams along the Wisconsin River were built. He often made trips up and down the stream while supervising the work, frequently visiting the Glen, and is represented by an N. The letter H on the left is for Joshua Hathaway, another civil en- gineer, who resided in Milwaukee. He it was who sent the artist-poet to make a portrait of Arch-+ bishop Henni. : The stone marked R was placed in memory of John Ruskin. The remaining stone is for W. J. Onahan, politician and welfare worker of Chicago. The four basswood trees at the mouth of the Glen, near the Mal- tese Cross, are often mentioned as the Melzl Quartette, musical friends of the family. The story is told that a bear once came ambling through the Glen just after a light fall of snow, jumping the stream between the little bridge below the fountain and the four basswood trees. Immediately afterward, George Mearns—Auld Geordie, as he was called—came forth with hammer and chisel, carving the tracks into the mossy ‘stone. There they may be seen to this day. A view of the Cambrian sandstone and basal conglomerate is best obtained by crossing the stepping stones, moving adroitly, if one would not baptise his soles. The rounded pebbles are of quartzite, broken pieces from the Baraboo Mountains of ancient times. Hewing down this wall has been the work of the little trout stream, which has. ex- posed to view the formation left by the waves and action of the Paleo- zoic Sea. The trout at play in the winding brook and the trees clinging to the fern-clad cliff are interesting sights in this niche of the great out- doors. The path from the fountain leads to the gallery and low-eaved cot- tage, the home for many years of the talented family. In the cottage, studio, and gallery the father and sons wrote and painted while the mother made beautiful lace for albs, treasured in many a_ Catholic church. General Sherman’s wife obtained one for her reverend son, a Jesuit priest. The father intended that each of his children should erect a stone building similar to the one already at the Glen and hoped his family might always remain there. This was far from the thought of the sons and daughter, however. Guarding the forest on the crest of the hill to the right is a row of cedars planted in memory of the sons and daughter. Perhaps a neigh- bor will tell you about the great Norway spruces of unusual height, about the studio, about “Auld Geordie,” the ancient bachelor who gave the disappointing party for the girls of the neighborhood, about the moosewood and other native plants, as well as a word about the feath- ered visitors that come to the Glen. CHAT ERe Vii Stone Pillar of Yellow Thunder and His Squaw, Situated a Few Miles North of Baraboo ASSING the Baraboo Cemetery and continuing for a distance of five miles north of Baraboo, Yellow Thunder’s Pillar is situated where two roads cross. The stone monument stands but a short dis- tance from where the old chief traversed an Indian trail and not far from where he died and was buried. On one side appears the follow- ing inscription. YELLOW THUNDER Chief of the Winnebago Born 1774—Died 1874 And His Squaw Died 1868 Yellow Thunder, a noted warrior and chief of the Winnebago, was “to the manner born.” With his tribe he probably took part, on the side of the British, in the War of 1812. He was buried three days after he had passed to the happy hunt- ing grounds, his body laid in a box in a horizontal position with face to the west, and his pipe and various trinkets around. His squaw was interred in a similar fashion except that the body was placed in a sitting position. The ceremonies in both instances were conducted by Indians, white neighbors assisting only in bearing the bodies to the graves. Yellow Thunder is said to have been a “man of great respectability among his people, and an able councilor in all their public affairs.” He was a zealous Catholic. In an interview, (see Wisconsin Historical Collections) Moses Paquetie said of him that he was a fine looking Indian, tall, straight, and stately, but had an overwhelming love for fire water. This was his only vice. Forcibly Removed Down the River In 1840 the Indians from this section were forcibly removed by United States troops under the command of Colonel Worth, down the Wisconsin River in boats and canoes to lands in Iowa. Yellow Thun- der and others were invited to Portage to obtain provisions, but instead of that, according to John T. de la Ronde, “were put into the guard- house, with ball and chain, which hurt the feelings of the Indians very much, as they had done no harm to the government.” It is said Yel- low Thunder felt the disgrace so keenly that he wept. They were af- terwards released and taken down the river. 65 66 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Yellow Thunder Forty Yellow Thunder, his squaw, and others, however, soon returned from Iowa walking many miles and arriving amid familiar scenes be- fore the troops which took them away came back. The chief secured forty acres (the south-west quarter of the south-east quarter of section 36, town 13 north, range 6 east, town of Delton, Sauk County, Wiscon- sin) from the government and there spent much of his time until his death in 1874. Rev. and Mrs. John Gillem of Baraboo, now own the forty acres on which the chief resided. Chief Yellow Thunder and His Pillar Chief Yellow Thunder and his squaw are buried at the intersection of two high- ways a few miles north of Baraboo, on the road passing the city cemetery. After the demise of his squaw in 1868, Yellow Thunder lived but little in the log house which stood about three-fourths of a mile north- east of the pillar. A few weeks before his death in November, he lo- cated his wigwam on the bank of the Wisconsin River about a mile north of his land in the woods. Here the neighbors ministered to his simple wants, death resulting from an injury to one of his knees, fol- lowed by blood poison. : Yellow Thunder’s squaw was a daughter of Chief White Crow who occupied a village site on the west side of Lake Koshkonong for many years. His grave is said to be at Cross Plains. Excited Over Religious Rite Rev. Gillem gives the following incident concerning Yellow Thun- der: - Mr. Gillem’s father-in-law, John Bennett, was immersed in the Wisconsin River, near the home of the late Mrs. M. L. Atkinson, town of Delton. As the rites proceeded and when Mr. Bennett was under the water, the chief became excited, firing his gun over the _ central BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 67 figure in the ceremony. Afterwards the Indians called Mr. Bennett the “Waterman,” because he had been plunged into the stream as part of the program in a religious service. Mr. Bennett knew the Indians very well, often ate with them and they with him. Squaw Secretes Gun Albert Bennett owned a gun which he loaned to his brother, John Bennett, mentioned in the foregoing episode. One day the gun was missing and the borrower of the weapon suspected Mrs. Yellow Thun- der knew what had become of the property. While the search con- tinued for the fowling piece, Joe Eagle, a familiar Indian character in the neighborhood, asked Mr. Bennett how much he would give to know the location of the sought-for gun. “Why, do you know where the gun is, Joe?’ “Yes, I do,” replied Joe. “T will give you a quarter if you know.” “Raise board under squaw Yellow Thunder’s bed.” Mr. Bennett went to the log house on the Yellow Thunder forty in which Mrs. Thunder lived and asked her about the gun. She became very indignant. Crawling beneath the bed, Mr. Bennett raised a loose board and there was the gun. Many of the Indians would steal. Even Mrs. Yellow Thunder’s dog was found by Mrs. Atkinson in her cellar eating the pork from a quantity of baked beans. ’ asked Mr. Bennett. Hidden Treasure While the Indians lived on the Yellow Thunder forty, the chief permitted several families to reside there. They received annuities from the government.. One day a white neighbor asked Yellow Thunder for a loan of one hundred dollars and after a short absence he returned with the money, all in gold coin. It was believed by many that Yellow Thunder was thrifty and that he had hidden a package of gold in the sandy soil of his land. Diligent search, however, has failed to bring to light any treasure secreted by the chief. Pillar Erected North of Baraboo In 1909, it was decided by the members of the Sauk County His- torical Society to remove the remains of Yellow Thunder and his squaw to a new location, fearing that by clearing and cultivating the land the graves would become obliterated. An excavation was made, the bones were placed in a large vitrified tile, and the cairn erected, the earthen receptacle becoming a part of the boulder-made ossuary. Here, near a familiar trail, not far from the white neighbors with whom the Indians often mingled and sometimes ate, the remains rest in this enduring sepulcher. From Mrs. Kinzie’s Wau-Bun The following incidents taken from Wau-Bun, a narrative of the early days at Fort Winnebago, by Mrs. J. H. Kinzie, show some of the characteristics of the squaw of Yellow Thunder. Among the women with whom I early made acquaintance was the wife of Wau-kun-zee-kah, the Yellow Thunder. She had accompanied her husband, who was one of the deputation to visit the President, and from that time forth she had been known as “the Washington woman.” She had a pleasant, old-acquaintance sort of air in greeting me, as 68 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION much as to say, “You and I have seen something of the world.” No expression of surprise or admiration escaped her lips, as her compan- ions, with childlike laughing simplicity, exclaimed and clapped their hands at different wonderful objects I showed them. Her deportment said plainly, ‘““Yes, yes, my children, I have seen all these things be- fore.” It was not until I put to her ear a tropical shell of which I had a little cabinet, and she heard its murmuring sound, that she laid aside her apathy of manner. She poked her finger into the opening to get the animal within, shook it violently, then raised it to her ear again, and finally burst into a hearty laugh, and laid it down, acknowledging by her looks that this was beyond her comprehension. I had one shell of peculiar beauty—my favorite in the whole col- lection—a small conch, covered with rich, dark veins. Each of the vis- itors successively took up this shell, and by words and gestures ex- pressed her admiration, evidently showing that she had an eye for beauty—this was on the occasion of the parting visit of my red daugh- ters: Shortly after the payment had been cognpleted and the Indians had left, I discovered that my valued shell was missing from the collection. Could it be that one of the squaws had stolen it? It was possible— they would occasionally, though rarely, do such things under the in- - fluence of strong temptation. I tried to recollect which among the party looked most likely to have been the culprit. It could not have been the Washington woman—she was partly civilized and knew better. A few weeks afterwards Mrs. Yellow Thunder again made her appearance and carefully unfolding a gay colored chintz shawl, which she carried rolled up in her hand, she produced the shell, and laid it on the table before me. I did not know whether to show by my coun- tenance displeasure at the trick she had played me, or joy at receiving my treasure back again, but at last decided it was the best policy to manifest no emotion whatever. She prolonged her visit until my husband’s return, and he then questioned her about the matter. “She had taken the shell to her village, to show to some of her people, who did not come to the payment.” “Why had she not asked her mother’s leave before carrying it away?” “Because she saw her mother liked the shell, and she was afraid she would say, No.” This was not the first instance in which Madame Washington had displayed the shrewdness which was a predominant trait in her char- acter. During the visit of the Indians to the Eastern cities, they were taken to various exhibitions, museums, menageries, theatres, etc. It did not escape their observation that some silver was always paid be- fore entrance and they inquired the reason. It was explained to them. “How much do you pay for each one?” Her father told her. “How do you say that in English?” “Two shinnin—humph” (good). The next day, when as usual, visitors began to flock to the rooms where the Indians were sojourning, the woman and a young Indian, her confederate, took their station by the door, which they kept closed. When any one knocked, the door was cautiously opened, and_ the woman, extending her hand exclaimed—‘‘Two shinnin.” This was readily paid in each instance, and the game went on, until she had accumulated a considerable sum. But this did not satisfy BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 69 her. At the first attempt of a visitor to leave the room, the door was held close, as before, the hand was extended, and “two shinnin” again met his ear. He tried to explain that, having paid for his entrance, he must go out free. With an innocent shake of the head, “Two shinnin” was all the English she could understand. The agent, who had entered a short time before, and who over- hearing the dialogue, sat laughing behind his newspaper, waiting to see how it would end, now came forward and interfered, and _ the guests were permitted to go forth without further contribution. WISCONSIN HAS ELEVEN STATE PARKS Wisconsin state parks are as follows: Devil's Lake, near Baraboo, 1,400 acres, most popular in the state and visited each season by about 200,000 persons. Nelson Dewey Park, near Prairie du Chien, 1,651 acres, named for an early governor. Peninsular Park, Door county, 3,400 acres, gorgeous in the cherry blossom season. Pattison Park, near Superior, 660 acres. Perrot Park, Trempealeau county, 910 acres. Cushing Park, near Waukesha, 8 acres. Interstate Park, St. Croix Falls, 580 acres. Jenkin Lloyd Jones Park, Spring Green, 70 acres. Belmont State Park, in utmost southwestern county (old territorial capitol) 2 acres. Brule Park, up and down the Brule valley in Douglas county, about 4,000 acres. Rib Hill State Park, Wausau, 160 acres. Other parks are contemplated. TABLE OF WISCONSIN ELEVATIONS UES eR WET Ua a fey alg Glalsas (a) Ape aah 22 ct Seale a a ae eeee OPEN Behe 1927 feet PeeTTOS Me eR CLT OTL “COOUIITE Yaeger sak ee ee eee vee 1866 feet SaUIn Lake ostation, iaanciane? County...) 25 eee 1743 feet Mines Motinds vest’ Mound: lowa, County 2.021.262. ee 1716 feet Para VOCE iis; "COM alk, ooattk, Gounty..2....2- eee 1620 feet BURA VORA LAE, AVY ASEUITI TOTP OLI LY oy etree en Site Sea ee ose nace aneeees 1361 feet Platte Mounds, West Mound, Lafayette County 2000000000... 1325 feet MOR CLIN TetE atl LLL VV da KOS an COUN Tit aenc.rh ecient kininase ea 1233 feet rites tia even A OUT. CrP ante LOMsie ye 3, ace eae ae oa Se 1185 feet ELEVATION OF WISCONSIN LAKES Taf oa ooh SE sa D eae Wy ig at i OE, SO slo i Mag tS a, 4 ih ea eal eee ae IEP 581 feet LEIS SOUPS Sy a vege Sata AOR IA OT Nas Ula As Ae ec a oe ee 612 feet Lake soasisoucng. «| etrerson Gonnty Gn. Lee ok 777 feet ae ee ONE ed ts pa GV ey ct hy eee), «IM Oe al CMa e ae ROO Ste Cea 798 feet PE PCOLE mare AOUITEN Tota eke ne 8 sy ee 849 feet Peal VY CURES TAT ASOLO end Sere hien deco cde On ccna see 852 feet Soemrewuce VV cll WORTIPE COTE Ye tei 5 ats Sy el oO ede had 863 feet rene wi rrectn een tity aos ee es So ee ee 796 feet Sere rureies, sa wer COUNTY ice sch eee about 1280 feet Ppt A FIFO ACN OUTIL Vs) Mears efit tea es a ct he Anne eats a about 1600 feet Pee ec BAK COUNUY ) cewek ke ee ee. about 960 feet Lae VICES LIORCRT, V.11aS< COUDLY bec. scsh sete ode btn ose eae about 1650 feet CHAPTER VIII Pewit’s Nest Near Baraboo—Home of a Re- cluse—Skillet Falls—Graves of Napoleon Soldiers UT a trifle over three miles from Baraboo, in the early 40’s, a queer enigmatical character secreted himself in the rock recesses of Pewit’s Nest. To this wildering abode he unexpectedly came, lived for a short time, and mysteriously disappeared like a phantom. After rumbling over the bridge at the Island Woolen Mill, climb- ing the curved incline, and passing over the viaduct above the railroad tracks, the course to Pewit’s Nest follows the main highway which Skillet Falls One of the many delightful combinations of stream and rock and tree, which add to the charm of the Baraboo region, may be seen at Skillet Falls. Photograph by Howard Ryan. turns here to the right for a half a mile and another half a mile to the left. Leaving Trunk Highway No. 12, the course follows a mile to the right, climbing the terminal moraine and crossing the outwash plain— and still another half mile to the left the journey brings the visitor to a little rural school-building by the roadside, where the car is left. Here Skillet Creek has cut a wide-mouthed valley or pocket, Pewit’s Nest being a quarter of a mile to the left of the main road—back of the. school house. Sward-sided cellar holes are all that remain of a few rude dwel- lings built about a primitive mill. At one time the jaws at the mouth 70 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 71 of the Nest supported a great iron shaft, a cumbersome _ overshot waterwheel deliberately delivering the contents of the creek, by means of its buckets, into the pool below. In the process logs were con- verted into lumber, a tedious operation. A Queer Abode Among the Rocks Before the building of the mill, however, there dwelt in the recess of the solid sandstone, like a gnome in a cavern, an ingenious and ec- centric character whose presence and unusual behavior gave the name to the place. In his “Outline Sketches” W. H. Canfield, local histor- ian, who located on Skillet Creek in 1842, says the abode of this indi- vidual was ten feet above a deep pool of water, dug out by the fall of the creek over the crest of the resisting formation. The approach to this nearly secreted habitation was either through a trap-door in the roof, or a trap-door in the floor. If one entered through the roof it was by clambering down the rocky wall to the opening, and if through the floor it was by means of a floating bridge upon the pool, a ladder at its end leading to the trap-door in the floor. The little shop could not be seen from the mouth of the canyon, or from the top, or from any di- rection but one, hence by the early settlers it was dubbed the “Pewee” or “Pewit’s Nest.” Here the recluse repaired watches, clocks, guns, and occasionally farming tools, even assaying to manufacture the latter in a rude way. Lathes he had for turning iron and wood, the power for propelling be- ing provided by an old fashioned centrifugal water wheel, itself as much a curiosity as its owner. A large coffee mill, likewise a_ grindstone, were arranged to operate by the water that was forever collecting in the upper valley and pouring through the shady dell. It is said that this hermit of the hill could tell a lively tale and dispel the gloom and loneliness by playing upon a violin. At times, forsooth, he was persuad- ed to preach for the Mormon church, although his activities as a preach- er were never pronounced. Among his other accomplishments, he posed as a doctor and prescribed as remedies the herbs and shrubs growing in the valleys and on the hills about. The favorite place of abode of this unusual individual seems to have been the border of a new country and when the settlements among the Baraboo Bluffs became too numerous, he as quietly and mysteriously disappeared from his queer home at Pewit’’s Nest, as he had come. Skillet Falls a Mile Above Pewit’s Nest Skillet Falls is located a mile above where the stream tumbles into a pool at the head of the peaceful valley and may be reached by fol- lowing the creek through the woods and fields for about one mile. The best way to enter, however, is through the farmyard of Assemblyman Dwight S. Welch on Trunk Highway 12 or by stopping the car in the road south of the Falls and following a winding path to the clump of pine trees seen to the left. (See Map V.) Before the time of the glacial epoch Skillet Creek emptied into the. Baraboo River where the city of Baraboo is located, two or three miles below the present confluence. The terminal moraine and _ material washed out from it by streams fed by the ice filled a portion of the bed of the stream and after the ice receded the creek was forced to find a new course near where the three roads meet, a short distance above Skillet Falls. The upper portion of Skillet Creek tumbles down the Baraboo .Bluffs over a bed which dates to pre-Cambrian times while 72 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION the lower portion is of much more recent origin, something unusual in the history of streams. This interruption in its career has resulted in the picturesque waterfalls. From the highway east of Skillet Creek one has a view of the terminal moraine to the east and of a highly pro- ductive outwash plain. Origin of the Name Skillet Creek was named by Levi Moore from the ‘Skillets’ or water-holes made in the Catnbrian sandstone, the shallow cavities look- ing much like basins or iron vessels used in cooking. Marched With Napoleon Continuing on the highway a mile west of Pewit’s Nest one ob- serves a rural burying ground on the slope of Rock Hill. A little south of the center in Rock Hill Cemetery sleep two soldiers who marched with Napoleon in his worid-disrupting European conquests. On mar- ble stones one reads: Michael Hirschinger Mickael Nippert Died Died March 20, 1853 May 23, 1864 Aged 67 Years Age 70 Years, 2 Months Michael Hirschinger was the father of former Assemblyman Charles Hirschinger of Baraboo. The most thrilling experience of the parent was his march to Moscow in the fall of 1812 and his retreat with the great Corsican. Half a million men marched triumphantly into the beautiful city, only to have it burned by the citizens in their very presence. This meant the destruction of Napoleon’s army. The tomb of Mrs. Hirschinger is near that of her husband. Near the grave of Michael Hirschinger one reads about all that is known of still another Napoleon soldier, Michael Nippert. As to his martial deeds but little is recorded. By his side sleeps his wife. Napoleon went to St. Helena; Hirschinger and Nippert came to the Baraboo Hills. Geological Formations The top of Cemetery Hill is capped with Madison (?) sandstone aud the layers below are as follows: Mendota, Devil’s Lake sandstone, St. «Lawrence limestone, near farmhouse on the south side of the hill where the roads cross, and Dresbach sandstone in the creek to the east of the farmhouse. The Mendota and Devil’s Lake formations may be seen in contact south of the old lime kiln, about one-fourth of a mile south of Skillet Falls. (Cahoon’s Quarry). A mile and a quarter south of the cemetery, where the road bends to avoid plunging into it, a spring of delicious water bursts with pris- tine virtue from the hills:'de and escapes into the quietude of a wooded dale. This torturous streamlet, which finds its way for almost a mile through the towering timber of this delightful retreat, is known as Pine Creek. Ferns, mosses, and certain variet:es ot wild flowers cling to the rocks which rise high above the stream. The dale is one of great at- tractiveness to a lo:terer through this unfrequented wood cf the Bara- boo Bluffs. GCHAPLEE ROLLA Man Mound, Famous Archeological Wonder Why Indian Earthworks Were Built HE famous Man Mound, a few miles northeast of Baraboo, is the most interesting archeological feature of the region. This earth- work is shaped like a gigantic human figure and is the only known In- dian monument of this nature in the world. If a scenic drive to the mound is desired, from the courthouse in Baraboo follow Trunk Highway 33 to the greenhouse at the corner of Eighth and East Streets, then turn to the left. Enter the Baraboo Cemetery at the top of the first climb, drive along the main street to the hydrant beyond the chapel, turn to the left and stop the car near the Henry Ringling mausoleum. Here is probably the finest view in the entire region—Devil’s Lake gap being across the valley and the south range of bluffs extending for miles beyond the Baraboo River, INDIAN MOUNDS | GREENHOUSE Lloe GROUND STATE TRUNK HIGHWAY 33 Map VII. Roads to Man Mound Park There are several ways of reaching Man Mound Park from Baraboo. The most scenic is to go one mile north of the greenhouse while the best road is to turn to the left at the round barn and go one mile north, then turning to the right. hidden in the depression below. A few paces north of the last resting place of Henry Ringling—in the same row of lots—may be seen the graves of the parents of Ringling Brothers,—also grave of Otto Ring- ling, famous circus man, and still farther to the north is the mausoleum of Al. Ringling, the eldest brother who erected the theatre in the city lying below. A. G. Ringling is buried in the southeast portion of St. Joseph’s Catholic Cemetery, to the north of the Protestant burying ground. After leaving the cemetery the drive should continue up the hill to the top where a fine view of the region about Kilbourn may be ob- tained. To reach the Man Mound turn to the right and follow the scenic highway until the second rural school is reached. For the best travel, however, continue east from the greenhouse. A deer mound may be visited at 727 Eighth Street, Highway 33, the home of M. C. Crandall, located in a grove of oaks near the city limits. 73 74 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Man Mound The rear portion of this mound, a rare effigy, was de- stroyed a number of years ago. A linear mound may be seen just back of the effigy and a small oval mound on the west side of the house, a tree growing on the earth- work. Continuing on the Trunk Highway two miles, a turn is made to the left, where there is a circular barn, the high- Way approaching a _ rugged elevation on the left side of the road. This outcrop. of sandstone is known locally as Rocky Point or Violet Hill, from the abundance of violets which carpet its slopes in the spring. Violent Hill would, perhaps, be a better appella- tion, as the point has been responsible for a number oi serious accidents. Early in the history of this region, a bold frontiersman made the wrong turn, because of a maudlin mind acquired in the village by overindulgence in rum, and his wagon tipped over, snuffing out his life on the rocks. About the year 1870 another devotee of Bacchus also became a sacrifice. Be- fore his team had reached the top of the hill this confused husbandman, thinking he was at the turn in the road, di- rected his horses into the rocks and by the overturning of his wagonbox, was killed. Another victim was an employe of a hop yard near the Man Mound. One night this individual walked down the slope north of the hill but instead of following the high- way skirting the rocks, he walked directly over’ the crest. Stepping into the dark- ness, he fell headlong down the declivity, barely escaping death. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 75 Only a few years since, a driver and team came down this same north slope in a snowstorm. The snowdrifts were deep and the driver finally abandoned his conveyance, walking behind his horses in an en- deavor to follow the road. Blinded by the falling snow and confused by the drifts, man and team plunged over the cliff and were only saved from destruction by the abundance of snow. So deep were the drifts that little could be seen of the horses after the tumble, except their ears. The Man Mound The journey now leads a fraction of a mile farther up the north range of the Baraboo Bluff, then a mile to the east to a rural school and Man Mound Park, the central object of which is the famous Man Mound. The length of the mound is 214 feet and the width at the shoulder 48 feet. In order to assemble this large amount of earth the Indians, Indian Burial Mound Mounds of the above type, round or oval, were made by the Indians when they buried their dead. Sometimes many skeletons are found in such mounds. The above picture is of a mound near the Wisconsin River in the northern part of the town of Fairfield, about eight miles from Baraboo. having neither shovels nor iron tools of any kind, used bark baskets or baskets of other material, scrapers of wood or stone, and their hands. The observer will realize with what labor and under what difficulties the workers accomplished their task. When the Indians were gathered here, in camp, with their activity and grotesque dress, they must have presented a fantastic picture in the boundless wilderness. The Man Mound was located and platted by W. H. Canfield, local surveyor, historian and archeologist, July 23, 1859. The original sur- vey is now in the possession of the Sauk County Historical Society. The name of the discoverer of this earthwork has been lost in the dim- ness of time. When the highway was graded a number of years ago the lower part of the legs was destroved and subsequently the feet, for many years beneath a board fence on the north side of the road, were 76 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION leveled. On August 7, 1908, the. Man Mound Park was formally dedi- cated at the joint state assembly of the Wisconsin Archeological So- ciety and Sauk County Historical Society, the bronze tablet, a gift of J. Van Orden of Baraboo, being unveiled at that time. Previous to this the land had been purchased by the two societies and the Landmarks Committee of the Wisconsin Federation of Women’s Clubs. There was once a man mound near the village of La Valle but this has long since been destroyed. Region Rich in Indian Mounds In pioneer times the Baraboo region was rich in Indian mounds and although the plow has been active since the forties and fifties of Winnebago Lodge The Winnebago Indians had habitations of several types, the above being ones in which they resided. Tourists may sometimes see these in the vicinity of Kilbourn. the last century, many of the aboriginal earthworks still remain. They were erected by the savages on hillside and on plain, by lake and stream, in the deep forest and on the open prairie. They are the relics of a people now disappearing and are of ever-increasing interest to the investigating archeologist. The theory was at one time advanced that a pre-Indian race, the Mound Builders, constructed the earthworks, but modern archeologists have disproved the idea of the existence of any such pre-historic peo- ple, holding the builders of the mounds were none other than the Indians. It is believed the Winnebago are the authors of a majority of the earthworks found in Wisconsin. The great number of these heaps of earth scattered over the country indicate a considerable In- dian population extending over no small period of time. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 77 Indian mounds or tumuli are of various forms and, with few ex- ceptions, may be classed as round or conical, elongated or wall-l:ke, pyramidal, and effigy or emblematic mounds. The conical mounds in the United States vary in height from scarcely a perceptible swell to an elevation of 80 and sometimes 100 feet. Those in this section are smaller the highest not over 25 feet. Those in the Baraboo region seldom exceed the height of two, three, or four feet. In the conical mounds the Indians often buried their dead and sometimes one, two, or three layers of charcoal are found above the remains, indicating that fires, probably of a ceremonial nature, had burned over the dead. The long or wall-like mounds are earthworks of a usual length of 50 to 300 feet, in extreme cases the wall having a maximum extension of 800 or 900 feet. Linear mounds are found in the effigy mound region. Pyramidal mounds are not found in the Baraboo country. The effigy mounds represent animal forms, and, with few excep- tions, are confined to Wisconsin and contiguous portions of neighbor- ing states. The famous Serpent Mound and_ several animal-shaped earthworks are located in Ohio and two bird mounds are in Georgia. Effigy mounds vary from three or four to 500 feet in length and in height from a few inches to five or six feet. Burials are rarely made in these mounds which have the outline of the deer, bear, lizard, turtle, eagle, swallow, frog, or other forms of animal life. Indians are divided into clans and most effigy mounds are believed by archeologists to be the emblems of these clans. In order to perpetuate the clan idea, the Indians constructed about their place of residence the mounds sym- bolic of their clans, thousands of these earthen elevations being scatter- ed over southern Wisconsin. In Alaska the Indians carved their totems or clan emblems on trees and in Wisconsin they made them of earth. Effigy mounds may be considered totems. The deer mound at the home of Mr. Crandall in Baraboo, the bird, bear and lynx mounds in Devil’s Lake State Park are clan emblems but archeologists believe the effigy in Man Mound Park an Indian deity. Mounds of all types in the eastern part of Sauk County numbered over 600, according to a survey made by Dr. A. B. Stout about 1905; and in the western part of Sauk County about 135, according to a sur- vey made by the author of this booklet about 1921. Both reports were published in the Wisconsin Archeologist. Indians of tke Region When Jonathan Carver, noted traveler and author, visited this section in 1766, he found a village of the Sauk and Fox Indians at Prairie du Sac. The former tribe was sometimes known as the Osaki, Ousaki, Sac, Sacque, Sakis, Saky, Saquis, and Sock, the plural being Saukies and so forth. In time the Sauk and Fox Indians were moved into Illinois and the Winnebago were pressed from the region of Lake Winnebago into this section. Although the government made several attempts to remove the Winnebago to lands west of the Mississippi, beginning in 1840, yet several portions of the broken tribe persist, most of them residing near Mauston. Occasionally a few Indians wander about the neighboring cities and villages, remnants of a people who once possessed the region. Very often at Kilbourn and Baraboo the Winnebago may be seen selling baskets or other wares, tepees in a convenient spot being their abode. ‘uUOISa1 J11}uU9 * 94} UL [NJyNesq jsour 9Y} JO 9UO SI UIeIH Sulidg 0} [IJ S,eppoyT wos spi oy uoIsay UsIIH Suridg-yneg 94 “TITA dew AY3LAW3ADS WAV FLVLS SINOf GAOTI NI} af | Wh WNa a "ee SQGNNOW NVIGNI @®B WISCONSIN HEIGHTS jw AOVId YS9aver Us MMVH WOVE a CHAPTER X Spring Green — Three Tragedies — Jenkin Lloyd Jones State Park—Ableman Nar- rows—Van Hise Rock. Lae Baraboo over Trunk Highway No. 12, climb the terminal moraine about two miles southwest of the city, traverse an outwash plain, and Skillet Creek is crossed just before coming to a turn in the road. The bank on the right, just as one makes the turn a few rods east of a schoolhouse, is said by geologists to have been the mouth of an ancient stream, as shown by the successive layers of fluvial deposit. About a half-mile farther along there is a bold outcrop of quartzite and Waterfall at Taliesin This pretty wall, linn and pool are at the entrance to the rural abode of Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect. in the highway, at the south end, one should note the ripple marks where the rock has been quarried, also the schistose structure. The latter is again exposed about half a mile to the eastward, also along the Warner Memorial road in Devil's Lake State Park. Evidently this schistose formation extends the entire distance of about two miles be- tween the two highways. Just before beginning the descent on the south slope of the bluff one obtains a charming view of beautiful Sauk Prairie where, year after year, the horn of Amalthaea is most prodigal with gifts. This outwash plain was a veritable paradise of bloom in the days before the advent of the plow. 79 80 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION A “Paper” Town Plat Preserved At the bottom of the bluff, between the first and second roads which course to the right, lies the village plat of New Haven. The sur- veyor’s map of this “paper” town is preserved in the courthouse at Baraboo. Just above the villages of Prairie du Sac and Sauk City, the Wis- consin River has been harnessed and twenty-five thousand horsepower from the great dam provides light and power for an extensive area. Visited By Carver The villages of Sauk City and Prairie du Sac occupy the site of the great town of the Saukies, visited by Jonathan Carver in the autumn of 1766. All that is left of the presence of the Saukies is the corn hills. In his description, among other things, Carver says: “This is the largest and best built Indian town I ever saw. It con- tains about ninety houses, each large enough for several families. They are built of hewn plank, neatly jointed and covered with bark so com- pactly as to keep out the most penetrating rains. Before the doors are placed comfortable sheds, in which the inhabitants sit, when the weather will permit, and smoke their pipes. The streets are regular and spacious; so it appears more like a civilized town than the abode of savages. The land near the town is very good. In their plantations, which lie adjacent to their houses, and which are neatly laid out, they raise quantities of Indian corn, beans, melons, etc., so that this place is esteemed the best market for traders to furnish themselves with pro- visions, of any within 800 miles of it. “The Saukies can raise about three hundred warriors, who are gen- erally employed every summer in making incursions into the territories of the Illinois and Pawnee nations, from which they return with a great number of slaves. But these people frequently retaliate, and in their return destroy many of the Saukies, which I judge to be the reason they increase no faster.” Note the memorial tablets at the Sauk City end of the Wisconsin River bridge, then take Trunk Highway No. 60 westward. Just after crossing the railroad, on a knoll to the right, was the location of the French and English boarding school opened by Professor J. H. Turner in 1854. The school supplied educational advantages to the community for several years. Some of the residences have been reconstructed from the ones built and used by the school. A short distance to the westward, on the left side of the highway, one notes an oak grove. Here may be seen an acre or more of Indian corn hills. Much of the ground at Prairie du Sac and Sauk City was devoted by the Indians to the growing of vegetables. These corn hills among the oaks are the only ones now remaining, now sward-covered and much reduced in elevation. ‘ About four and one-half miles from Sauk City one passes Lodde’s Mill on Honey Creek, one of the oldest water powers north and west of the Wisconsin River. Here Robert Bryant, in 1840, built a sawmill which was later replaced by a mill for grinding grain. In 1859, flour made at this mill took a premium at the State Agricultural Fair. One mile beyond where Honey Creek falls over a dam, Ferry Bluff, so named because a ferry was once operated there, may be seen on the left. More than a mile west of Ferry Bluff, where the highway turns to the left, was located Riches’ Tavern in an early day. Raftsmen trudged back from the south to the pineries in the north along this road. Unsolved Murder Mystery On Tuesday evening, August 8, 1922, Julius, William and Mary Balzer were brutally murdered at their farm home on Trunk Highway 60, a little more than ten miles from Sauk City. At the top of a small knoll the house stands on the east side of the road and the farm build- ings on the west. Julius was aged about 59, William was 68, and Mary was 65 at the time of their deaths. Here they lived, none of them mar- ried, and they were reputed to have accumulated considerable wealth. The atrocity was committed about 9 o’clock in the evening and it was not until near the close of the next day that Henry Meng, a neigh- bor, found the body of Miss Balzer in the ditch near his mail box by the side of the road. The two brothers were found in the garage near the barn. Home of the Balzers But a few rods from the house in which they lived, Julius, William and Mary Balzer were murdered. Evidently the murderers had stopped at the house and had asked for aid in connection with their automobile. Julius had taken a lantern, had gone into the small building where the Balzer car was standing, was struck over the head, and later was found with the lantern over one arm and an automobile pump beside him. He lay face down and evidently had never moved after being assailed by the murderer. The brother, William, was probably standing on the outside and when he heard the noise he no doubt thrust his head inside the door, only to meet the fate of Julius. He fell across the body of his brother and left a quantity of blood on his clothing. Later William revived, somewhat, and moved about the garage, a trail of blood marking his course. He fell, rolled under the car, where he was found insensible by District Attorney H. J. Bohn and Sheriff Herman C. Neitzel, and taken to a hospital at Sauk City, where he died about one week later. Obviously the sister knew that something unusual had happened for she fled from the house when the criminals approached. She ran through a field of corn near the home and was trying to reach the resi- 82 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION dence of a neighbor when struck down, falling in the ditch by the highway. To the box came the rural mail carrier during the day and scores of cars passed, yet no one noticed the dead form almost com- pletely hidden by the weeds, until Mr. Meng came for his mail in the evening. The murders probably were committed with a hammer or like in- strument. The weapon was never discovered. The Balzers kept every- thing picked up, were neat about the farm. A pair of goggles was found lying in the garage and it is thought these were left by the mur- derers. If the protecting spectacles belonged to the criminals, they were the only objects left by them. The search of the house was slight and but little money was car- ried away, is the belief of neighbors and officials. The Balzers had View on Trunk Highway 60 Swiss-like scenes are numerous in the southwestern part of Sauk County. The driftless area. about twenty thousand dollars in cash and securities in a Sauk City bank. The deeds to the farm were never found and the supposition is that a bundle of papers was carried away. No one knew the intimacy of the household, hence just what was taken is not known. The mystery of the identity of the murderers has never been solved. It was twenty-four hours before Sheriff Neitzel, District -At- torney Bohn and others could search for clues. The brother in the hospital was able to state before he died that he did not know who they were, bloodhounds were brought without avail, the track of the auto- mobile was lost in the sands of the highway, and every person in the community was questioned without result. It was as if the wrath of the evil one had descended upon these rural folk. The authorities some day hope to pick up a thread which will lead to the arrest and conviction of the criminals. Evidently there was more than one person concerned in this crime, and where there has been more than one there is always hope that justice will some day be meted out to the evil doers. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 83 The two brothers and sister left property valued at about $40,000 to go to a number of relatives, some of whom are in Germany. It will be some time before the estate is closed. The victims were buried in a cemetery a short distance east of the church on Cassell Prairie. The dates of births and deaths of the three are given on the stones—Julius 1863-1922, Mary 1857-1922, William 1854-1922—-vet those who knew the family well think the figures, ex- cept 1922, are wrong in every instance. Another Murder On Saturday evening, August 2, 1923, in the same township. of Troy where the Balzers had met a heartless fate, less than six miles in an air line from the scene of the triple crime, two men, under cover of darkness, might have been seen to leave their automobile on a lonely road, retrace their steps down the highway, enter a private driveway and, avoiding a farm house, stealthily approach a small hut or shack Hut Where Robert Jaeger Was Murdered The group of officers and others are examining certain evidence after the crime. in which Robert Jaeger resided. The two men were Alvin L. Jensen and John Galloway, both of Madison. According to the evidence at the trial, Jensen told Galloway to go to the rear of the hut and make a noise. On the way around the building he stumbled over some tin cans and the owner of the place came to the door. As he stepped forth with a gun in his hand, he was struck over the head with a partly decayed club, the piece of wood falling in three pieces. The one assailed was brought to his knees by the blow, arose and burst forth with, “I’ll shoot you, d you, I’ll shoot you.” Quick as a flash of lightning, Jensen grabbed the gun, struck Jaeger on the head and knocked him back into the shack. His skull was fractured, a more serious wound being prevented by his throwing up his hand as the gun came down on his head. The ends of his fingers received the brunt of the blow. While Jensen was making a search, Jaeger attempted to arise and was struck on the head five times 84 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION PRIVATE ROA HOUSE OCCUPIED BY TENANTS? HOUSE WHERE JAEGER WAS @ ATTACKED , 160 ACRES 40 ACRES qavow NMOL MAP OF |} SECTION 14, TON, R4E TOWN OF TROY Map IX. Scene of the Jaeger Murder Here on the night of August 2, 1923, two men deliberately came for the purpose of murder and robbery. with an axe. The blade went to the bone but the skull was not crushed. After obtaining about $1,000 in money, the two men hurried to their car by the shortest route and returned to Madison. Soon after they were gone, Jaeger got up, walked to the home of the tenant on the farm, John Barlin, and entered the barn. When Mr. Barlin and Erwin Luther came home later in the evening they heard some one in the bin where oats are stored and while wondering at the noise, Jaeger, not knowing what he was doing, came out of the barn. He fell before them, was hurried to Madison and died just as_ those with him were ready to carry him into a hospital. He was aged 61 years. Naturally this second murder within a year inflamed the neighbor- hood. Sheriff William H. Ode and District Attorney H. J. Bohn hur- ried to the scene and picked up all the threads which might lead to the detection of the criminals. After the two men left their car they walked down a sandy hill and casts were made of the footprints. The tracks produced by the car showed that the left front wheel was equipped with a Goodrich 55 tire and the remaining wheels with Fisk Premier Cord tires, which had been on the market since the first of the previous January. The kind of tires on the car was widely advertised. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 85 At Madison William E. Flaherty operated a garage where cars were rented and the day after the crime William Dawson, a reporter for the Capital Times, drove a machine owned by Flaherty. He met with a slight accident and later while at the garage making a settle- ment noticed the machine equipped with the one Goodrich and three Fisk Premier Cords. He had some conversation with Flaherty and be- came convinced that was the car driven on the night of the crime. The Fisk tires of this make having been on the market so brief a time and so few of them being in use in Madison, strengthened his belief as to the identity of the machine. On Wednesday morning, August 22, Dawson telephoned District Attorney Bohn, the records at the garage were examined, and the ar- rest of Jensen and Galloway soon followed. It was disclosed at the garage they had used the car on the fatal Saturday night and had driven the distance required to make a trip to the Jaeger farm and return. | The two men were painters in Madison. On the person of Gallo- way was found the sum of $485.00 and in a can hidden by Jensen in a paint shop was found the remainder of the money, $515.00. The bills smelled musty and had every indication of having been stored away in a place, such as the one in which Jaeger lived. Jensen received a sen- tence for life and Galloway one for twenty-five years, in the peniten- tiary at Waupun. Flaherty made an effort to reach the authorities at Baraboo but was distanced slightly by Dawson. Both claimed the reward of $500 and at a hearing before the Sauk County Board of Supervisors it was decided to give the reporter for the Madison newspaper the $500 and the owner of the garage $100 for his efforts in identifying the criminals. The Jaeger estate was probated at about $17,000, the money, like that of the Balzers, to go to a large number of relatives. The victim in this premediated crime was buried in the cemetery one and one-half miles east of where the deed was committed. Just after the turn at the church on Cassel Prairie, a cottonwood tree marks the site of the “Setting Hen,” another pioneer place of en- tertainment, and seventeen miles from Sauk City a rude building at the rear of a farm home was the last log school house in Sauk County. |! Just before crossing the river bridge south of the village of Spring Green, a large cubical stone is observed at the left of the road. This marker was placed by the. United States Coast and Geodetic Survey in 1878. The solid limestone cube, set on a base of masonry, is used in triangulation by surveyors. A similar stone is located some two miles west of Spring Green. Taliesin, Home of Frank Lloyd Wright Turning to the right after crossing the bridge and following the highway about one mile, Taliesin, the country place of Frank Lloyd Wright, noted Chicago architect, may be seen. A _ pretty artificial waterfall, tumbling over ledges of native limestone near the interesting gateway, welcomes visitors to the grounds which are quite extensive. A woodland road leads to the dwelling, approaching from the south by a gradual upward slope. The proportions of the house, or as it is local- ly known, “the bungalow,” are unpretentious and the structure as it rests against the hillside, half-hidden by a wealth of native shrubbery, seems almost an integral part of the elevation. The dwelling, with the court and stables, is constructed of limestone of a brownish hue, in- 86 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION digenous to the locality. The architecture exhibits Japanese character- istics but is an embodiment of what the architect terms, “The New American Architecture.” In the court a modest statue may be ob- served among the shrubs and flowering plants, upon which is chiseled the well known lines from Tennyson: “Flower in the crannied wall, I pluck you out of the crannies ;— Hold you here, root and all, in my hand, Little flower—but if I could understand What you are, root and all, and all in all, I should know what God and man is.” Map X. The Ableman Region Note the location of Van Hise Rock, spring and artesian well. The plat of the village is not indicated. Irom the house and garden a fascinating view of the countryside is presented, including hill and dale and fertile farm lands. The little stream whose purling waters adds so much to the attractiveness of the entrance, winds roundabout in charming contour. The bungalow was the scene of a tragedy on Saturday, August 15, 1914, Julian Carlton, a crazy negro servant killing seven people with a hatchet and wounding two others. The dead: Mrs. Mamah Bothwick, a woman with unconventional ideas which were shared by the owner of the bungalow. Mrs. Bothwick’s son and daughter, John and Martha Cheney, aged 11 and 9 respectively. ; Emil Brodelle, aged 30, an architect. Thomas Brunker, hostler. Ernest Weston, aged 13. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 87 David Lindblom, gardener. The injured were William H. Weston and Herbert Fritz, the latter escaping with a broken arm and cuts. With gasoline the negro set fire to the building and as the occu- pants attempted to escape through a door and window, one by one, he struck them with a hatchet. The murderer was found in the firebox of the boiler in the basement and died later in the Dodgeville jail as a result of taking muriatic acid soon after committing the crime. Some of the bodies were burned beyond recognition. “All that was left of her” was buried at Unity Chapel, the bodies of the Cheney chil- dren were cremated in Chicago, the body of Ernest Weston was placed in the Spring Green Cemetery, Emil Brodelle was interred in Milwau- kee, David Lindblom was lowered in a grave at Unity Chapel and Thomas Brunker sleeps at Ridgeway. The body of Carlton was shipped to the University of Wisconsin, at Madison, where it was used in the dissecting room of the medical department. The owner of the property was in Chicago at the time of the tragedy but returned soon after. The bungalow, which was _ partly destroyed by fire, was later rebuilt. Taliesin, the name given to the estate by Frank Lloyd Wright, was a Cymbric bard, whom Welch legend assigns to the sixth century. Jenkin Lloyd Jones State Park To reach Jenkin Lloyd Jones State Park turn to the left after crossing the bridge south of Spring Green, and again turn to the left at a small cemetery less than a mile away. Here it was that Rev. Jen- kin Lloyd Jones conducted an intellectual and_ religious congress through many summers. About 1830, Daniel Whitney built a shot tower here, the metal being dropped from the top of a hill and removed throuzh a tunnel below. Helena was laid out by Generai Dodge, a blockhouse was built during the Black Hawk War, and_the place was visited several times by Lieutenant Jefferson Davis. During the rafting days there was much activity here. A fine view of the river as well as the bluffs beyond may be seen from the top cf the hill at the rear of the cottages and by descending one may see the tunnel from which the shot was removed. The park was duly dedicated and accepted by the state on October $1922: ; To return to Baraboo go north from Spring Green and note the pond on the left when part way up the bluff. The body of water is due to sand blown by the wind blocking the mouth of a valley. About six miles north of Plain, on the right side of the highway, is an old stone hophouse, one of the oldest in the country. Here hops were dried in the sixties. After passing Loganville, turn to the right at the County Farm to go to Ableman. Ableman Narrows Ancient Canyon Concerning the ancient canyon at Ableman Professor C. K. Leith, University of Wisconsin, Madison, writes: “The gorge at Ableman illustrates remote geologic history of in- terest to students of geology. -88 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Van Hise Rock at Ableman This rock, named for Dr. Charles R. Van Hise, at one time president of the University of Wisconsin and eminent in geology, stands in the ancient river canyon, between the highway and the railroad. According to Atwood in Chamberlain and Salisbury’s geology, the schistose structure developed by pressure shown in the left half of the figure, while it is wanting in the right half. The vertical line is a bedding plane. The layer to the left was of sufficiently different composition, or sufficiently different movement, to develop schistosity, while that to the right was broken (brec- ciated) instead. The rock at the left would be called quartz schist while that at the right is quartzite. . BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 89 “The hard pink quartzite standing in vertical layers was once sand which was deposited’in an ancient sea (pre-Cambrian time) and has since been hardened into a quartzite. This is known from ripple marks which are like those at the bottom of the modern sea. The region was upheaved into mountains by a slow movement and the layers became vertical. The various disturbances to be seen in the quartzite layers illustrate important principles of structural geology. In some places the rock was shattered or cracked by the movement and _ partly cemented again by white vein quartz. “Ages of weathering wore down these mountains into bluffs much like those of today. “The area sank beneath the sea (Cambrian time) and additional layers of sand, gravel and boulders were deposited and subsequently hardened into sandstone and conglomerate. These layers were later upheaved gently from the sea, but without tilting. The level layers of Cambrian sandstone may be seen near the north and south ends of the gorge resting ‘uncomformably’ upon the irregular surface of much older vertical layers of pre-Cambrian quartzite. “Streams and weather have since worn the bluffs into their pres- ent shape. The gorge was cut. by the Baraboo River. “The soft clay and sand in the bottom and sides of the gorge were mainly deposited by the Baraboo River when the glacier blocked its course at Baraboo. Weathering of the sandstone has made other thin deposits of sand and wind has deposited fine clay (loess). “The quartzite is used for crushed rock, for abrasive and for fire brick. The conglomerate is crushed for roads. The sandstone is used for paving blocks and buildings. Moulding sand is dug from the river deposits.” On the east side of the highway, near the upper end of the gorge, stands the picturesque Van Hise Rock, a sentinel-like landmark, carved by the eternal sculptor. On the north side of the rock one reads on a bronze tablet: VAN HISE ROCK The material of this rock was once sand on the sea bottom and has since hard- ened into quartzite. It was tilted to the present position by a slow earth movement, and then separated from the adjacent cliff by erosion. The vertical light and dark bands represent the original layers. The inclined cracks in the dark layer were caused by the readjustment in the layers during the tilting. This rock is pictured in geologic books as a type illustrating important prin- ciples of structural geology, and has been a point of special interest to many in- vestigators in geology visiting this region. President Charles R. Van Hise of the University of Wisconsin was one of the first and foremost of these. Tablet presented by friends of Van Hise at the University of Wisconsin, 1923. There are about 70 feet of silt and sand in this valley, deposited during the glacial period. This means the river was 70 feet lower at one time. In the beginning the stream was far above the top of the canyon, becoming gradually lower as the formation was cut away. The same may be said of the beautiful Narrows Creek canyon to the west of Ableman. On the way to Baraboo note the horse-shoe bend after passing a school. From the top of the terminal moraine just before reaching the city, one obtains a fine view of the valley to the westward, the low land being filled by a glacial lake at the time the wall of ice occupied the position of the terminal moraine. CHARGERS x1 Natural Bridge, Near Leland, is of Mazo- manie Sandstone—Result of Weathering BOUT one and one-fourth miles northeast of the village of Leland is located the Natural Bridge. The bridge is an arch with a span of about 35 feet. The height is from 25 to 35 feet and the ledge which spans the opening is about four feet wide at the top. No stream has caused the weathering of the Mazomanie Sandstone, the work having been done by the wind and the crumbling away of small pieces of the rock. A cave over seven feet high and about 25 feet long is under the arch of this natural wonder. Natural Bridge Near Leland In order to obtain some idea of the size of this natural wonder compare with the figure on top. ; The depression on .the north side of the Bridge was no doubt scooped out by the wind when there was little or no vegetation. Leland may be reached by taking Trunk Highway 136, either from North Freedom or Prairie du Sac. The former route is past the abandoned iron mines south of North Freedom while the latter is through ancient valleys with interesting saridstone formation along the way. To reach the Bridge from Leland, drive northeast and park the car just east of the first house on the north side of the road. The Bridge is some distance north of the highway and it will be necessary to walk a half-mile through a field and up a wooded slope. The bridge is to the left after entering through the gate into the woods. The land is owned by Richard Radatz. 08 yd od i hae BE Wisconsin Heights Battlefield Near Sauk City—A nother Napoleon Soldier Grave— Roxbury Church ISCONSIN has been mercifully fortunate in that but three bat- tles have been fought within the borders of the state since American occupation, and these during the Black Hawk War. The three are Pecatonica, Wisconsin Heights and Bad Axe. The memorable battle of Wisconsin Heights between United ° States troops and the famous Indian Chief, Black Hawk, and his Sac and Fox war- riors, was fought about a mile south of Sauk City. This encounter, so disastrous to the forces of Black Hawk, took place July 21; 1832, when Wisconsin still was a part of Michigan territory and settlements were chiefly in the lead region, the south- western section of the state. Wisconsin Heights Battlefield Near this Site 2 Ts cig ae The Sauk Chieitain pany’ p= ie a et ae BLACK HAWK - ve nee and His Band Were Overiaken By Wisconsin and Illinois Troops On July 21, 1832 Erected by the John Bell Chapter D. A. R., Madison September 3, 1923 bee oa 3 tha Sy ee ea 8 = After crossing the Wis- consin River at Sauk City, Battlefield Monument . follow State Trunk High- way 81 more than a mile—until a monument bearing the above inscrip- tion is seen on the left side of the road immediately after crossing a concrete culvert. The battle was fought about 300 paces south of east of the memorial. 91 92 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Causes of the Battle The causes leading up to the battle of Wisconsin Heights were numerous. On the Rock River, near its confluence with the Mississip- pi, was the Sac village, the inhabitants of which were more in sym- pathy with the British than with the Americans at that time. A treaty had been signed in 1804 by the Indians transferring to the United States their lands in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, with the proviso that as long as the lands remained public domain the Indians might live or hunt upon them. Regardless of this, white squatters not only entered this territory, but as early as 1823 enraged Chief Black Hawk and his people by burning their lodges over their heads, ‘destroying their crops, and whipping their squaws and children for venturing beyond certain bounds, while the chief and his braves @ ¥, ae ROXBURY Map XI. Vicinity of Wisconsin Heights Battlefield (1) Indian cornhills in an oak grove near the highway. (2) Battlefield of Wis- consin Heights. (3) Rural school building from which Wisconsin Heights may be seen. (4) Cemetery in which soldiers who marched with Napoleon are buried. were absent on the hunt. “The evil grew worse year by year, and fre- quent remonstrances of Black Hawk to the white authorities were in vain. It was clearly the duty of the general government to protect the Indians so long as no sales.of land were made.” Black Hawk was ad- vised to seek a village site beyond the Mississippi to avoid the advanc- ing tide of settlement but the warrior was obstinate and prepared to fight for his lands. About this time he began to deny having been a party to the treaty. This denial “was the weak point in his position.” A crisis was reached in 1830 when pioneers plowed over an _ Indian cemetery, pre-empted a village site, and took possession of the planting grounds of the red men. Black Hawk, after consulting with the British agent, threatened the squatters with force, but a military demonstra- tion so frightened the Indians that they gave up the idea of fighting and fled across the Mississippi. On April 6, 1832, the Hawk, with about five hundred warriors, (about one thousand Indians, including women, children and old men,) BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 93 mostly Sac Indians, crossed into Illinois, creating wild excitement in the settlements there and in Wisconsin. Soon eighteen hundred volun- teers, some mounted and some on foot, were on the march. Black Hawk sent a note of defiance, retreated up the Rock River, and made a stand at Stillman’s Creek. Disappointed at not receiving assistance from other tribes, he sent messengers with a white flag to his pursuers, asking that he might return peaceably beyond the Mississippi. Those bearing the white flag were brutally slain by the militia. Black Hawk was enraged, and from an ambush routed a larger party, killing a num- ber and wounding others. About this time settlers were killed at a number of places and the name of Black Hawk was connected with every stump, tree, and pro- jecting rock in the region. The entire section was terrified. Forts sprang up at a dozen places and additional troops were summoned. In the meantime Black Hawk moved up Rock River near Lake Koshkonong and, being hotly pursued, retreated with his warriors and the women and children to the present site of the city of Madison. A Day of Excitement for Troops and Indians The Indians and the militia were on the move early on the morn- ing of July 21, 1832. Their camps had been near each other but neither cared to make an attack at night. While passing along the shore of one of the lakes at Madison, an Indian was seen to come up from the water and pause near a newly made grave. In a moment he was pierced with bullets. The grave was probably that of his squaw who had died from exhaustion and the disconsolate red man had decided to await the approaching foe and there, also, meet his fate. It was not long until the rear of the band was sighted. The day was warm. The Indians threw away kettles, blankets and_ other weighty articles in order to accelerate their speed. Some forty horses belonging to the soldiers became exhausted, and the riders leaped from the animals and hurried along as fast as possible on foot. Two or three times the Indians showed fight but melted away as soon as any num- ber of their enemies appeared. These feints but served to stir the chase from dawn to late afternoon. Black Hawk did not have over 500 warriors, while General Henry had about 600 soldiers and Colonel Dodge 150 more. In the ardor of their pursuit, over a country possessing many difficulties, the immediate commands of Colonel Dodge and Colonel Ewing had outstripped the rest of General Henry’s brigade. About five o’clock in the afternoon, when they arrived at Wisconsin Heights, they were met by a spy com- pany which had preceded them and which had been driven back, the enemy having shown fight. The command of Dodge, with Ewing in the center, dismounted, formed in line, and advanced to the edge of the bluff. The Indians were secreted in the high grass growing on the level ground on both sides of the creek. Dodge maintained his position for about an hour; General Henery’s brigade then arriving. His soldiers were deployed to the right and left, the line thus being formed with Dodge’s command in the center. From five o’clock until sundown the conflict continued. The In- dians in the meantime had been driven from their initial position, some of them escaping up the bank south of the stream and others falling back in the rank lush weeds and grass toward the Wisconsin. Rain fell and the high grass becoming wet, it was found impossible for the men to keep their arms dry in passing through it, so the firing ceased. 94 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION The flight of the Indians was hindered by their being encumbered by their women, children and old men, and Black Hawk fought this battle in part to give these, as well as his warriors, time to escape across the Wisconsin. Chief Black Hawk (1767-1838) From an original oil portrait by R. M. Sully, painted at Fortress Monroe, while Black Hawk was confined there in 1833. The portrait is now the property of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin. Chief White Crow, father of Yellow Thunder’s squaw, (the latter buried a few miles north of Baraboo,) a number of Winnebago, and Pierre Paquette, their interpreter, were in the battle as aids to the whites. They had joined a detachment which had left Fort Winnebago (Portage) to go to Rock River, and were in the wild chase across BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 95 the unbroken country to the place of the battle. They left the scene during the night and returned to Fort Winnebago. On the mountain overlooking the battlefield, an Indian chief gave orders during the fight and a little before dawn the morning after, a voice was heard from the same eminence. This greatly disturbed the troops and General Henry had all his men parade in order of battle. The individual speaking in the darkness was Neapope, endeavoring to make a conciliation, thinking the Winnebago were siill in the camp and would understand him. Just before daylight the harangue ceased and Neapope disappeared. When morning came troops found a few horse tracks which appeared to have been made during the night. An Unmarked Grave in Grove But one soldier was killed, John Short, who is buried on the bank among the trees, a few rods south of the stream and about 300 paces south of east of the monument. All trace of this grave is lost. A young woman, Mary Hackett, who died in pioneer times, was buried at the eastern extremity of the level ground, not far from where the soldier was interred. No one has since been buried here. During the battle Colonel Jones had a horse shot from under him and several soldiers were wounded. The day after the fight was spent in preparing to transfer the injured to the fort at Blue Mounds. The number of Indians killed will never be known, but it was in the neighborhood of fifty or sixty. Many of the survivors, with hearts of lead, crossed the Wisconsin River during the night, and moved through the wilderness in a northwesterly direction toward the Mis- SisSippi. Indians Pursued to Bad Axe A few days after the battle the troops, reprovisioned at the Blue Mounds fort, crossed the Wisconsin at Arena, marched up the bank of the river until the trail was found, and pursued the retreating Indians in their frightened flight. The savages killed horses along the way in order to sustain themselves with food; some perished from their wounds, and still others died from fatigue. At the mouth of the Bad Axe River, the troops from the rear, the fire trom the Warrior on the Mississippi, and the Indians in Minnesota, almost annihilated the band under deluded, deceived, and defeated Black Hawk. A few of his braves and families who descended the Wisconsin River in boats, met a similar fate near the mouth of the stream, bringing to an end the campaign of Black Hawk, and all Indian warfare in Wisconsin. Black Hawk was indiscreet, romantic, ambitious and restless, but “forbearance, honorable dealing, and the exercise of sound policy by the whites, could easily have prevented the war.” (See “The Story of the Black Hawk War,” by Dr. R. G. Thwaites in Wisconsin Historical Collections, Volume XII.) Alfred Taylor resides on a farm a short distance east of the bat- tlefield. When a youth he accompanied a soldier who fought in the battle, also his father, over the ground. Mr. Taylor has a clear recol- lection of the description of the fight given by the participant in the battle. Years ago Mr. Taylor’s father found on the field a gun and saddle, afterwards destroyed in a farmhouse fire. A short distance south of where John Short is buried there is a fine group of Indian mounds. 96 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Grave of a Napoleon Soldier From the Mazomnie road near the battlefield, one may drive east about a mile to the Roxbury Cemetery, on Trunk Highway No. 12. Northeast of the center of this burying ground lies a soldier who served one year against Napoleon and three years under him, a ndt uncommon circumStance when the whole of Europe was torn by the great Corsi- can. The inscription above the grave reads: Peter Pauli Geb. 10, June 1792 Gest. 7, Sept., 18&4 ReiAe: Schlafe Wohl, O Vater Schlafe Deiner Walfahrt Leiden aus Sanft Sel Dir Der Letzie Schlummer Dein Erwachen Ohne Kummer About 1848 Pauli came with his family to America and after a stay in Milwaukee settled in Roxbury, where he died. two other Napoleon soldiers buried in this cemetery but their graves have not been identified. In the same cemetery are buried two other soldiers who marched with Napoleon, Neumeir and Clas or Claus. (See Wisconsin Magazine of History, March, 1921.) Their graves have not been identified. Roxbury (St. Norbert’s) Church Within sight of the cemetery is the Roxbury church, founded by Father Adelbert Inama, a German priest, about 1845. This church is one of the oldest and richest rural churches in this section of the state. The present edifice was erected in 1860 but was not finished within until 1866. The interior is most artistic. Above the altar is a painting said to have come from the brush of Holbein. However this may be, the picture is remarkable for the beauty of the figures represented which include the Virgin and Child with St. Jerome on the left and on the right St. James and St. Norbert. The church takes its name from the last named saint who is said to be portrayed with the features of Louis I, king of Bavaria, donor of the painting. The picture is under- stood to have been sent by the king as a present to the church in 1860. Between the rural school building, west.of the cemetery, and the Wisconsin River was the “paper” city of Superior, which once aspired to be the capital of the state. The plat, now in the courthouse at Mad- ison, extended for about three miles up and down the river. CHAPTER XIII Portage and Old Fort Winnebago—Ceme- tery Where Soldiers of Many Wars Sleep VIE Wisconsin was on the frontier, as a protection against the Indians, three forts were built—Fort Howard at Green Bay, Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien, and Fort Winnebago at Portage. The central object of interest in this little journey is the early outpost at the Fox-Wisconsin portage. Leaving Baraboo on Trunk Highway 33, leading directly east of the city, where open fields now greet the eye on either side, was once 7 A) NG io ~ wre . WR s AY 3h NV Indian Agency House This house was built by John H. Kinzie, who, with his bride, came as Indian agent to Fort Winnebago in 1830. To this house, Mrs. Kinzie, a cultured eastern woman, brought her piano up the Fox River. In after years she wrote ‘“‘Waubun,”’ telling of many interesting things which happened here. The property is now owned by E. S. Baker of Portage. a treeless tract known as Peck’s Prairie. This was named for Eben Peck, an early settler whose residence was on the present highway a short distance west of the fair ground. Roche Moutonnee After passing a road which turns to the left and leads to the Man Mound, a roche moutonnee, sheep shaped surface of the quartzite, may be seen about a half-mile to the left. The surface of the outcrop was rounded during the invasion of the glacial ice into this region. Ripple Marks in the Quartzite Just before reaching the Baraboo River the road swings to the left, approaching the talused slope of the rugged north range of the 97 98 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Baraboo Bluffs. Exposed in an abandoned quarry the observer will note a considerable surface of the perpendicular exposure covered with ripple marks. These were made by waves in shallow water, hardened into quartzite and then set up on edge when the region underwent a mountain making movement. Two species of cacti grow on the summit of the bluff, also to the west—Opuntia humifusa, the western prickly pear, and Opuntia fragilis, the brittle opuntia. The highway extends along a dry ravine and in early times an In- dian trail leading from the west reached the river through this depres- sion. There was an Indian ford at this place, a crossing for the trail extending from the vicinity of the city of Baraboo to the east. On the V-shaped ridge across the ravine, almost opposite the farm house, a bear mound lies, the head extending to the south. Other mounds were to the west of this but these have been destroyed. About 1906 a skele- ton was unearthed on the bank of the gully, nearly opposite the farm- stead. The gap where the river escapes from the valley into the lowland to the north, has a geological history similar to that of Devil’s Lake. No talus covers the slopes, however, the loose stones having been swept away when the ice sheet flowed slowly through in glacial times. The glacial deposits fill the watergap to a depth of more than 260 feet. An Ancient Lava Bed At seven localities about the outer margin of the quartzite region, igneous rocks have been found—at Alloa, near the Devil’s Nose, at Baxter’s Hollow, three near Denzer and one at the Lower Narrows. By far the largest area, described by Samuel Weidman, formerly of the Wisconsin Geological Survey, in “The Baraboo Iron-Bearing District,” is found at the Lower Narrows, distributed over the width of more than a half-mile along the north slope, to the east and west of the gap. At the bridge the road to the left leads to a point less than a mile distant; here the igneous rock porphyry or rhyolite comes boldly within a few feet of the highway. By climbing upon the ledge one stands on a surface older than the Baraboo Hills, older than any other deposit in the whole region. As lava the rhyolite flowed, then cooled and during the upheaval of the north range was forced upon its edge, remaining so to this day. Upon this cooled lava the whole later geologic formation of the region rests; to be upon it is to be upon the floor of the world, one may say. Eastward from the bridge over the Baraboo River, the highway hugs the bluff. A few Indian mounds may be seen less than a half- mile to the north after passing the first farm house: To the east of these mounds the skeletons of about sixty Indians were uncovered when one was leveled a number of years ago. The Indian corpses had been seated in a circle and buried in one heap of earth. Evidently there had been a battle or pestilence amongst them. To the right of the highway are many hidden beauty spots all along the way to the next bridge over the Baraboo River, especially where the streams come down from the high land above. One of them may be seen at the rear of the farm buildings where the highway sign indicates the boundary line between Sauk and Columbia counties. However, the most attractive of these is Fox’s Glen, to the right and just east of the rural school building facing the river. The high ground on the right, just before crossing over the Wiscon- sin River, is the site of an Indian Village. The pioneers crossed the BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 99 river here on a ferry, the first bridge being built in 1857. It was de- stroyed by a cyclone in 1903, and the present structure was then erected. ‘ Home of Miss Zona Gale After entering West Cook Street, the main thoroughfare of Port- age, and reaching the third street to the right, the car should be swung one block south to pass the home of Miss Zone Gale, the author of “Friendship Village,” ‘Miss Lulu Bet,” ‘Birth,’ and many _ other volumes of fiction. In the residence of Southern colonial architecture many of her works have been produced and these have been read the world over. Miss Gale is one of the most noted Wisconsin authors. The house stands at 506 West Canal Street, on the bank of the wind- ing Wisconsin, the rear lawn sloping to the waterway. Where Paquette Was Killed West Cook and Mac Streets. Near the intersection of. these two thoroughfares is where Pierre Paquette (Pacquette, Pauquette, Po- quette), Indian trader, interpreter and portager, was killed by an abori- gine, in the fall of 1836. The Daughters of the American Revolution at Portage have planted a tree at the northeast corner of the above-named streets to mark the location of the tragedy. Paquette was the son of a French father and a Winnebago mother; about 1818 he was married to a woman whose father was a Canadian half-breed, and whose mother was a half-breed Sauk. Paquette was interpreter for the Indians at the treaties with the Winnebago at Green Bay in 1828, at Prairie du Chien in 1825, and at Rock Island in 1832. He fought in the ranks at Wis- consin Heights and after this war engaged as a trader on the west side of the Wisconsin River. His assassination is said have grown out of his connection with the Sauk War. While intoxicated he came _ to where Manzemoneka, a son of Whirling Thunder, and his squaw had their fire, kicked the embers about, and was killed on the spot. The trader and the Indian had quarreled before. Monument to Discoverers Crossing the canal bridge near the Wisconsin River and contin- uing south several blocks, a granite monument marks the place where Louis Joliet (he always wrote it Jolliet) and Father Jacques Mar- quette, and five companions, the first white men to visit this region, crossed the Portage on June 14, 1673, and floated down the Wisconsin. The memorial was erected by the Portage chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and in 1923 they placed a tablet on the rear of the stone which reads: Old Military Road End of Wauona Trail Many noted persons crossed the portage in early times and by the beginning of the eighteenth century, two hundred years ago, the place was almost as well known as any in the United States. Duluth and Hennepin, the first to ascend the Wisconsin River, were here in 1680. According to the journal of Hennepin, they cut crosses in the trees as a record of their presence. 100 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION Nicholas Perrot, the Baron Lahontan, Charles Pierre Le Sueur and other famous travelers describe the portage in the latter part of the seventeenth century. Near the beginning of the eighteenth century the Fox war retarded travel and transportation by this route. During the summer of 1727 an expedition on its way to establish a French post on the upper Mis- sissippi, passed across this narrow strip of land. Then came a long procession of voyageurs, missionaries, and travelers, going to and from the Sioux country or to places along the Mississippi. Along this historic way the French garrison at Mackinac, in 1760, retreated to the Illinois country. Thence came Jonathan Carver, author and traveler, in 1766, and here he found Pinnashon, transporting agent. Pinnashon had escaped from the Illinois garrison and became the first white settler here. When Peter Pond came in 1774 he found the agent busy portaging. As a rendezvous for Indians during the American Revolution the portage is indellibly written in Wisconsin history. In 1780 the expedi- tion against St. Louis gathered here and during the same year Long hurried to rescue the furs of the traders stored at Prairie du Chien. The business grew to such an extent that Laurent Barth, in 1793, came with ox teams to assist the travelers and tradesmen in crossing the nar- row bit of low land between the rivers. Before the close of the eighteenth century the Decorah family of Winnebago chiefs pitched their wigwams in the neighborhood; Jean B. L’Ecuyer was transporting the travelers, and in the boreal season of 1801-2 Augustin Grignon, noted Wisconsin fur trader, tarried here. During the summer of 1810 the overland division of the expedition sent out by John Jacob Astor of New York to establish a trading post at the mouth of the Columbia River passed this way in its fruitless journey, so graphically described by Washington Irving in “Astoria.” Robert Dixon, British Indian agent, during the War of 1812, col- lected his savage allies here, and thither on its way to drive the Ameri- cans from Prairie du Chien, portaged the motley company in 1814. Following the Treaty of Ghent, this same British force retreated over the historic route the next year. Then frequently there passed detachments of Federal troops be- tween Fort Howard at Green Bay and Fort Crawford at Prairie du Chien. Here in 1827 occurred the memorable surrender of Red Bird. a Winnebago chief, the central figure in the Winnebago War. Extending through the Spanish, French and British occupancy and into the American regime, a picturesque procession wended its way across the portage. There was the Jesuit Father, self-sacrificing in his quest of Indian souls to save; the rollicking voyageurs, jauntily clad in fringed buckskins; the coureur de bois, daring adventurers of the fur trade; half-breeds and savages, tricked out in paint and feathers, all mingling in a cosmopolitan company. Fort Winnebago Dates From 1828 Crossing the Fox River, the location of the commissary building of the fort will be observed a few rods to the left. Goods from boats plying the Fox were unloaded into the building; a fragment of the wall still remains, hidden in the weeds and grass. The frame house to the right, somewhat modified, was the sur- geon’s quarters, the hospital being near. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 101 The well at the farmstead at the left was in the center of Fort Winnebago when completed in 1830. The portage was made a military post in 1828, Major David E. Twiggs erecting the fortification. Dur- GARDENS GARDENS MILITARY ROAD To GREEN BAY OR FORT ead Shanties p CT CEMETERY oO Blacksmith Shop r) 7) = ° ae c) e i. . o = Blacksmith Sho oh ; " Hospital T Surgeons’ Quarters oo Stables ShantieSe Rs Map XII. Fort Winnebago and Surroundings (1835) The map is from a sketch made by O. P. Williams in the ‘‘History of Columbia County,” 1880, with slight changes made by E. S. Baker, Mrs. E. S. Purdy and others. The building to the right after crossing the Fox River from Portage, once the hospital and surgeon’s quarters, is all that is left of the military buildings. The Fort was one and one-half stories high, the whole being built around a well still used on the farm. The guard house was to the right, just inside the fort. In the lower corner was a one-story magazine, the soldiers’ quarters were on the right of the enclosure, the officers’ quarters were opposite the entrance, the chapel was in the upper corner, additional officers’ quarters were on the left, and the block house was on the corner to the left of the entrance. The stockade or picket-fence surrounding the Fort was of split tree trunks driven into the ground side by side, the top of each being ten feet above the surface of the ground. ing the Black Hawk War the outpost was useful in checking the hos- tile tribesmen. It remained a garrison until 1845, and was sold in 1853, the nineteen and fifteen-hundredths acres bringing $23.94. The deed 102 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVII’S LAKE REGION was signed May 9, 1854, by Jefferson Davis, then Secretary of War, the transfer being to Henry Merrell. The deed, yellow with age, may be seen in a frame hanging on the wall of the public library in Portage. It was Davis who, with his military force, constructed the garrison and who afterward became president of the Confederacy. Colonel Zachary Taylor, afterward president of the United States, visited the fort with Captain Hugh Brady, Indian fighter, in 1836. Judge D. Doty, afterward territorial governor, often was here, while General Lewis Cass, and Captain Frederick Marryat, celebrated English novelist, were among the many noted visitors. Miss Marcy, later the wife of General George B. McClellan, was a child here, the-daughter of a lieutenant. Surrender of Red Bird Many interesting episodes took place at Fort Winnebago, one of the most picturesque being the surrender of the Indian chief, Red Bird. Lieutenant Jefferson Davis at 32 (From an old engraving in the Aldrich Collection, Historical Department of Iowa.) In 1827, near Prairie du Chien, a number of whites were murdered by Winnebago Indians and a keel boat containing soldiers was attacked while on its way down the Mississippi River from Fort Snelling. The two incidents produced widespread alarm for it was feared there was a general uprising of the Indians. In all this Chief Red Bird, whose vil- lage was in Trempealeau County, was implicated. The Indians fled up the Wiscansin River and a mounted force scoured both sides of the stream as far up as Portage. Major Whistler hurried from Fort How- ard, now Green Bay, and was accompanied by a company of Oneida and Stockbridge Indians who encamped on the bluff opposite the point where Fort Winnebago was afterwards built. In the meantime the BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 103 Winnebago pitched their wigwams along where Cook Street in Portage is now located—west of the Catholic Church. General Atkinson also approached and General Dodge was in pursuit, all of which created a great stir among the Indians when they learned of the true situation. Accompanied by a band of Indians, Red Bird and the other guilty ones, carrying American flags at the head and rear of the procession and a white flag in the center, marched to Ketchum’s Point, and across the portage to the Fox River opposite where the fort was afterwards lo- cated. Red Bird was singing his death song and could be plainly heard by the troops and Menominees assembled on the high ground to the east. The Winnebago were assisted across the river on barges, Red Bird and the miserable We-Kau marching up a little in advance of the others. Red Bird, attired in all the raiment peculiar to his race and po- sition, carrying a white flag in one hand and a peace pipe in the other, humbly surrendered to Major Whistler. The prisoners were sent to Prairie du Chien, tried before Judge Doty, convicted, but sentence was delayed. In the meantime’ Red Bird sickened and died, committed suicide, Mrs. Kinzie says, in ““Wau-Bun” in consequence of chagrin from being held a prisoner, more than his proud spirit could bear. On De- cember 26, 1828, his accomplices were sentenced to be hung, but later were pardoned by President Adams on the condition the Indians cede certain lands to the government. The Daughters of the American Revolution of Portage have pur- chased a small piece of land where the three roads meet at the Fort and on a block of Wausau red granite have placed three bronze tablets, as follows: Old Military Road 116 Miles to Fort Howard To Fort Crawford 115 Miles —_—— Officers Old Fort Winnebago Who Served at “Cemetery Fort Winnebago Major D. E. Twiggs Site of Major Natkan Clark Fort Winnebago Captain W. S. Harney 1828—1845 Captain J. J. Ambercrombie Captain Gideon Low Surrender of Red Bird Capta'n E. V. Sumner Noted Indian Chief Lieutenant Jefferson Davis 1827 Lieutenant H. P. Van Cleve Lieutenant R. B. Marcy Erected by Lieutenant F. S. Mumford 7 iteiena aoa and others. of the American Revolution The Old Cemetery Continuing on the central of the three roads about a quarter of a mile, the Fort Winnebago cemetery will be found,in a grove to. the 104 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION right. Near the west fence is the grave of Cooper Pixley, a soldier of the Revolution, who died in 1855, aged 86. A little to the east is the grave of William Sylvester, a soldier of the War of 1812, and the first mayor of Portage, March 30, 1854. He was born October 28, 1782, and died November 20, 1875. His two wives sleep beside him. Near the south fence is the grave of John Clough, also a soldier of the War of 1812. He died July 11, 1855, aged 68 years. Near the center of the cemetery is the grave of Henry Carpenter, a soldier of the Black Hawk War. Captain Gideon Low was probably the only Mexican War veteran buried here. His body was subsequently removed to Silver Lake Cem- etery, Portage. Captain William Weir, Richard O’Neil, Owen Jones, Robert Rob- inson, and William H. Glenn, all veterans of the Civil War, are interred here. J. H. Gamble, hero of the Spanish-American War, sleeps in this same enclosure, and the grave of Archie White Eagle, a soldier in the World War, twelve paces from the inscribed stone boulder near the en- trance, is marked by two small pine trees. Those who died in the fort are buried along the south fence. The boards marking their graves burned years ago, and their locations are now lost. It is said more of the early graves are without than within the iron fence enclosing these sacred sepulchers. The Wau-Bun House Returning toward Portage, cross the canal at the eastern extremity of the city, turn sharply to the right and follow the road on the bank of the artificial waterway to the Agency or Wau-Bun House, now owned by Attorney E. S. Baker. John H. Kinzie came with his bride to the portage in 1830 and this house was soon afterward erected for them. Mrs. Kinzie brought her piano up the Fox River in a boat, mention of which is made in her delightful “Wau-Bun.” ; To the rear of the Agency House, Four Legs, the great chief of the Winnebago Nation, was buried, in 1830. His village was on Doty Island at the foot of Lake Winnebago, and his death at Portage was the result of carouse, traders not scrupulously observing the laws in re- gard to disposing of liquor to Indians. His funeral was observed with unusual pomp, as told by Mrs. Kinzie in “Wau-Bun.” “His body, according to their custom, having been wrapped in a blanket and placed in a rude coffin along with guns, tomahawk, pipes, and a quantity of tobacco, had been carried to the most elevated point of the hill opposite the fort, followed by an immense procession of his people, whooping, beating the:r drums, howling and making altogeth- er what is emphatically termed a ‘pow-wow.’ “After the interment of his body a stake was planted at his head, on which was printed in vermillion a series of hieroglyphics descrip- tive of the great deeds and events of his life. The whole was then surrounded with pickets of the trunks of the tamarack trees, and thither the friends would come for many successive days to renew the expression of their grief, and throw over the grave tobacco and other offerings to the Great Spirit.” The Winnebago mother of Peter Paquette was buried nearly in front of the Agency House. All traces of the Indian graves have been lost. BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION 105 Just east of the Agency House is where Jean Baptiste Dubay, born at Green Bay in 1810, had a trading post, operating for the American Fur Company. Here he was arrested on the charge of shooting William S. Reynolds, the quarrel being over the erection of a building on land claimed by the trader. Dubay chopped down the studding after the roof boards were on and when Reynolds protested he was killed, the tragedy taking place on August 15, 1857. Dubay narrowly escaped a lynching from the Portage jail; some time after he was released, but never again dared to visit Portage. He had oper- ated a boat on the Wisconsin River above Portage and after the tragedy took up his residence at Stevens Point. The Agency House was used as a tavern at one time, the land- lord being an Italian by the name of Ubeldine. His wife was an Irish woman and an early traveler states that she was “the better man,” at least when any difficulty arose between the two. The Canal The first charter for a canal at the portage was granted in 1837 to the same persons who had incorporated the Shot Tower Company of Helena, about half way to the Mississippi River. They commenced to dig on the Fox River where the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway crosses that stream and after expending $10,000 gave up the task. In 1846, the federal government passed an act granting the State of Wisconsin permission to build the canal and two years later this was accepted. In 1849, a canal was begun in a new location and in 1851 the steamer, John Mitchell, nearly accomplished the feat of passing from the Fox to the Wisconsin but was not able to do so on account of its incompletion. The state failed to complete the task, but granted a charter to an improvement company and this organiza- tion failing, the federal government took up the task, completing the canal during the Centennial year. The Boscobel was the first steamer to pass through the artifiicial waterway, the date being June 30, 1876. The canal is two and one-half miles long. The lock where the canal joins the Fox is a short distance to the east of the historic Wau-Bun House. The pioneer blacksmith shop was in the field forty rods or more to the west. The Lynching Bee Tree Returning from the Agency House along the canal, crossing the railroad, and traversing East Cook Street a short distance, the Colum- bia County Jail is noted on the right. Across the street and several rods to the rear, stands a gnarled black oak around which there was once a lynching bee. Pat Wildrick, the dread of travelers, the plague of sheriffs, and the torment of the entire region, was hanged from a limb of the tree on September 18, 1869. Wildrick had been arrested on the charge of assaulting and robbing Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Gates while they were camping on an island in the Wisconsin River, a few miles below Kil- bourn. Gates had about $2,400 with him and this Wildrick and his companion carried away. Wildrick. was arrested at McGregor, Iowa, placed in jail, released on bond, robbed a companion named Olson in Portage, and was again placed in jail. While in prison Gates was murdered near Kilbourn (see the first chapter in this booklet) and this so enraged the com- munities at Baraboo and Kilbourn that a lynching party was formed, the jail at Portage was entered by a ruse, and Wildrick lynched. 106 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION ——— —————————_—————————— Eee Just two days before the lynching bee, Captain Barney Britt was assassinated by William H. Spain in Portage, a mob lynching the murderer soon afterward. Both had served in the Civil War. The press of the time approved the verdict and considered the task well performed. One of the editors of that day, J. C. (Shanghai) Chandler wrote that Wildrick was hanging in such a way that he could not wipe his nose. The limb over which the rope was thrown was cut away and the pieces distributed as souvenirs. The scar left by removing the limb may be seen on the south side of the oak. On the north side is an in- scription: P. Wildrick Hung Here The act, unlawful as it was, clarified the atmosphere of the region. For a more complete account see The Wisconsin Magazine for June, 1923. Burial Place of Paquette Continuing west on Cook street several blocks, a turn is made to the right at the Baptist church, the first church the traveler reaches in traversing the thoroughfare from the east. Between the church and the parsonage to the rear stood the first French Mission between De Pere and Prairie du Chien, erected of logs by Pierre Paquette in 1833-34. He was killed by an Indian, as previously related, and beneath the rude place of worship was buried. The mission building afterward burned and for a number of years the exact location of the grave was unknown. It was later located and the remains moved to the Catholic Cemetery north-of Portage in 1904. On a small tablet on the parson- age, just above a cellar window on the west side of the house, one reads: Pierre Pauquette 1795—1836 Removed to Catholic Cemetery 1904 A large brown granite monument, with a globe at the top, marks his final resting place. PLACES FOR PLEASURE—PICNIC TABLES For an outing, picnic tables will be found at the following places: Man Mound Park, near Baraboo. Devil’s Lake State Park, near Baraboo. Flickner’s boat landing in Delton, and Fern Dell on Mirror Lake. Loch Mirror Park on Mirror Lake. Park in Merrimack. Marion Park in Prairie du Sac. Several camping places at Kilbourn. Ochsner Park in Baraboo. Hall Park in Sauk City, and Reformed Church, Sauk City. Gibraltar Bluff, Horton farm, north end. Fairy Dell Park, near Wonewoc. Weigand’s Bay and Gruber’s Grove, on Wisconsin River. Summerville Park, Pine Bluff, one mile north of Okee. Tourist camp ground, Portage. CHAPTER XIV From Madison to Kilbourn and The Dells ae trip by automobile from Madison to the Dells is one of varied interest and charm. Many of the uncommon, his- toric, and fascinating places mentioned in this booklet are near this much traveled road. (1) One may leave the capital of the state over Trunk Highway 12 or divert at the University of Wisconsin grounds, leav- ing the observatory to the right in driv- ing toward the lake, and then following the Park and Pleasure Drive until it joins the main road beyond the railway viaduct. The traveler follows the main direction taken by Black Hawk, his followers, and the troops on that intensely exciting day, July 21, 1832, until the scene of the even- ing battle is reached. The story of the en- gagement is related in the chapter on Wis- consin Heights. ROXBURY (2) Roxbury Cemetery where Na- poleon soldiers are buried, also church. SPRINGFIELD CORNERS (See chapter on Wisconsin Heights.) (3) Rural school building which was Be: on the edge of the “paper” town of the City of Superior. (See Chapter on: Wis- consin Heights.) From this building a favorable view of the approximate location of the battle may be obtained. (5S) The battle of Wisconsin Heights was fought near the creek. (6) Indian corn hills or garden beds in an oak grove. The hills, the last in this ASHTON entire region, may be dimly seen. Jonathan Carver visited the sites of pauk Ciyvand Prairies due Sac sini 3.1706. (See chapter on Spring Green, Jones Park and Ableman.) (7) Wisconsin River Power Com- pany, begun in 1914; capacity about 25,000 horsepower. (8) Farm purchased in 1920 by for- mer Governor E. L. Philipp, Milwaukee. SS (9) Baxter Hollow. (See chapter on | Miscellaneous Places of Interest.) Se “tat ale (10) Apiary of E. D. Ochsner. The SS hives may be seen from the highway. (11) Pine Hollow. (See Miscellan- eous Places of Interest chapter.) (12) Spring located in the woods, part way up the bluff. Deer are frequent- 107 = 108 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION ly seen along this part of the highway. (13) Bench mark erected by the United States Geological Sur- vey. The iron post gives the elevation as 1,200 feet. (14) Devil’s Lake. It may be reached by either of two roads north of the spring. (15) Outcrop of schistose structure —metamorphosed quartzite—and ripple marks. (16) Bank at left of turn in road af- ter passing school, is mouth of Paleozoic stream. (17) Skillet Falls, above, and Pewit’s Nest, below. (18) From Baraboo to the Dells, is over Trunk Highway No. 12. The road crosses Webster Prairie; the terminal moraine, forming the sky-line less than a mile to the east. This extensive prairie, a veritable flower garden in the days before the first plow-share disturbed the soil, is the outwash from a wall of glacial ice that, during the ice epoch, extended for miles in a northerly and southerly direction near the site of the present highway. It is now the center of a prosperous rural commun- ity. Some eight or nine miles distant from Baraboo, shortly before the road turns to the left, an interesting old residence is ob- served, the Elms, once the home of the Marshall family, early residents of the Prairie. The place, which at one time in- cluded 1,476 acres, was owned by the late R. D. Marshall of Madison, for many years a member of the supreme court of the state. The acreage has been somewhat re- duced in recent years. From the Marshall farm the road pur- sues a winding way, crossing Dell Creek and passing through the sequestered vil- lage of Delton where it turns abruptly to the right, then past groves of evergreen into Kilbourn. (19) Congress Hall. (See Chapter on Mirror Lake.) : (20) Where S. S. Gates was killed. (See Chapter on the Wisconsin River and the Dells, also Portage.) wh z z 3 WEBSTER} \s PRAIRIE a t< t 1G VF \ [ { SAUK PRAIRIE ( RIE. DU = SAUK CITY ed ' near CHAPTER XV Little Journeys to Miscellaneous Places Gibraltar Bluff near view. The formations, the top are: soil and_ glacial drift; Black River limestone; St. Peter sandstone, in huge cliff; Lower Mag- Okee, fine beginning at nesian, covered by fallen rocks; Jor- dan sandstone, seen in gullies; St. Lawrence sandstone, seen in gullies; and Mazomanie sandstone, seen in gullies. Pine Hollow, mile east of Kings Corners. Launch ride from Merrimack to Prairie du Sac. Baxter Hollow, south of Baraboo. Leach Lake, northeast of Baraboo. Konkel’s mill pond in Caledonia. - Fairy Dell Park one mile east of Wonewoc. Boyhood homes of John Muir, ten miles northeast of Portage. The Muir family resided on the north side of Fountain (Now Ennis) Lake and on Hickory Hill Farm several miles to the southeast. Read Muitr’s ‘“‘My Boyhood and Youth” and the previous edition of this booklet. TO MADISON In Madison visit the senate chamber, assembly chamber, governor’s room, hearing room, supreme court room and base of dome (for view) in the capitol. Guides provided by the state leave the rotunda at regular intervals. The out- side of the building is of White Bethel Vermont granite and the dome, 287 feet high, is but two feet less in height than the one at Washington. Note in- terior decorations by Kenyon Cox and others. Museum in Historical Library at foot of State Street. Indian Spirit stone and tablet near front entrance to building. Mammoth skeleton (found Richland Center) of extinct elephant, meteorites, fossils, lead and zine deposits in Science Hall. Natural history display in Building. Indian mounds may be seen on Ob- servatory Hill, Vilas Park, Mendota Hospital lawn, Memorial Hospital grounds and other places. Visit Vilas Park zoo. The animals are fed every day at 4 o’clock except Friday. ° Visit fish hatchery south of city. IN BARABOO Baraboo was named for Jean Bari- bault, a French trader. Biology There is a museum in the court- house. The first courthouse stood at 120 Fourth Avenue. 109 The Al. Ringling Theatre, 136 to 140 Fourth Avenue, was opened November 17, 1915, cost about $100,000, and the architects were C. W. and George Rapp, Chicago. The Al. Ringling residence, now oc- cupied by his sister, Mrs. Ida North, was erected in 1911, at a. cost of $100,000. Mr, Ringling was the eldest of the showmen. The first church in Baraboo stood across the street, east of the Al. Ring- ling residence. See tablet. The Collegiate Institute building, a pioneer college, is at 221 to 223 Fifth Avenue. Jack Boyle, author of Boston Blackie stories, in 1919-1920, resided at 316 Fifth Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. G. G. Gollmar, par- ents of the Gollmar Brothers, circus men, resided at 507 Birch Street. Ringlings first pitched their ‘“‘big top,”’ May 19, 1884, where the county jail now _ stands, southwest corner Broadway and Second Avenue. August Ringling, father of the Ring- lings, died at 210 Second Avenue. The family once resided at 227 on the same street. At the end of Second Avenue, south side of the street, was the winter quar- ters for many years of the Gollmar circus. The show was sold in 1919. Ochsner Park was opened to the public in 1919. The first water power on the river was below the large boulder marking the site of the first house. See school house tablet at 321 Seventh Avenue. Mrs. August Ringling, mother of the Ringlings, died in 1919, at 821 Oak Street. The Alf. T. Ringling residence, 103 Tenth Street, is now St. Mary’s Ring- ling Hospital, a gift by Mrs. Ringling and son, Richard T. Ringling. Mr. and Mrs. August Ringling, Al. Ringling, Otto Ringling, and Henry Ringling are buried in the Baraboo (Walnut Hill) Cemetery, August G. Ringling in St. Joseph’s Cemetery ad- joining. Alf. T. Ringling is buried at White Plains, New York. The Ringling winter quarters along Water. Street. Bunn the Baker of Baraboo formerly had a shop at 114 Walnut Street. He now resides on Cheek’s Hill. The Charles Deininger collection of birds is in the high school building. Fine collection of mounted water birds in the L. M. Jacobs barber shop at the rear of the First National Bank. were OY ES ERE TEE 2 DE TE TTT NL LE SRE OES IE OT STILE EELS TE LIT LRT LES LI LED SLE LE LITLE! 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The geological column has been worked out by combining observations from all parts of the world; there is probably no one place where all the ages of rock are present one above the other. Different kinds of rocks were formed in each epoch, some deposited by water, some by wind, some by the work of plants or animals, some by chemical action, and some by’ fire (igneous rocks), and some by ice. The Baraboo district contains examples of nearly all kinds of rocks but not examples of deposits made in all epochs. The time of deposition is told by examination of the remains of life or fossils within the rocks; there has been a steady change in the character of the life on the globe from one period to the next, man be- ing one of the latest to appear upon the scene. Where there is a con- tact between rocks formed at different times with the representatives of some ages absent, geologists say there is an “unconformity.” The Baraboo. region shows three great unconformities: between the granite and the Baraboo quartzite, between that formation with its associated deposits of Algonkian age and the Cambrian sandstone, and between all the bed rocks and the glacial drift. Each unconformity represents a time when instead of deposition erosion went on; in other words the area was land. During some of the intervals the change from sea to land was accomplished by great, powerful movements which upheaved mountains. The contact between the vertical layers of quartzite and the nearly level beds of sandstone and conglomerate at Ableman records a lapse of time which ‘staggers the imagination; the quartzite was changed from sand to hard glassy rock, upheaved from horizontal to vertical, cracked, quartz deposited by water in the crevices, the high mountains slowly worn down to their very roots, and last sunk beneath the Cambrian sea during this time. The unconformity between the solid rocks and the glacial drift also represents a long period of land conditions which embraced all the epochs from the Devonian to the Quaternary. During Archean time most of the rocks formed near Baraboo were cooled from a molten state (igneous); whatever sediments were de- posited have been so changed by earth movements, deep burial, and so forth that their origin can now scarcely be recognized. The Algonkian period found the sea over the land with ensuing deposition of sand, clay, iron oxide, and limestone, now quartzite, slate, iron formation, and marble. There are no recognizable fossils in these rocks but life prob- ably existed. The Cambrian rocks also record the work of the sea. Waters which covered the continent were never as deep as the ocean, although thousands of feet of deposits may have accumulated as the bottom gradually sank. Each sandstone formation records relatively shallow water with active wave work; each limestone, clear waters with 111 112 BARABOO, DELLS, AND DEVIL’S LAKE REGION low or distant lands allowing plants and animals to take lime from the sea waters for their skeletons or shells and on their death build up a deposit just as marl is being formed in the lakes of today; each shale means muddy water tarther from land than the sand but not so far as the limestone. Deposition continued with little interruption through- out the Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian periods. The long gap in the Baraboo district after the Silurian was broken only by the gravel deposition on the East Bluff which is believed to have possibly taken place during the Cretaceous epoch. Then came the ice age which in Wisconsin was marked by at least two ice invasions caused by a cool climate in Canada with abundant snowfall. More snow fell than could be melted and was compacted into ice which flowed outward by its own weight. The two stages of ice were separated by a prolonged interval when the glaciers nearly, if not wholly, melted away. Only one stage, the last, affected the Baraboo region. The glacier leveled up the country mainly by filling the valleys. Around Baraboo the valleys were filled about 250 feet; at Devils Lake about 400 feet. Comparatively little solid rock was worn away by the ice but loose stones and soil were swept away and mingled into the great mass of stones, sand, pebbles, and earth, some of which was carried from Canada, but most of which was taken but a few miles before it was dropped. \The visitor who stands on East Bluff overlooking the valley toward Merrimack can see just how far the ice extended because there is very little talus or loose quartzite boulders in the track of the glacier. Instead he will find such in the terminal moraine which forms the dams at both ends of the lake. The fact that the time since the ice passed away is long measured in terms of human affairs, some tens of thousands of years, should not obscure the fact that the process of loosening blocks from the bluff is very slow. If in say 40,000 years so few stones were broken off by frost, heat, and roots of trees, how long did it take for a stream to carve a valley half a mile wide and 9(@0 feet deep in solid quartzite? How long did it take for the sea to deposit that quartzite?) How long for the Algonkian mountains to be uplifted — and then worn almost wholly away? How long for the Cambrian and later sediments to be formed? The human mind can scarcely grasp the answer, for such huge figures are impossible of comparison. The column at the right of the table gives the rough estimates far too small. We must also remember that during the vast time the earth has been in coming to its present form, not once has it ever all risen above the temperature of boiling or all fallen below that of freezing; else no life could have survived. The visitor who has learned to think on these problems will find them far more impressive than the freakish, queer shaped rocks, mere accidents of weathering formed in comparatively recent times. He will have learned some of the fundamental truths on which rests the science of geology.