A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin : including the Four Lake country : to July, 1874, with an appendix of notes on Dane County and its towns, Part 1

Author: Durrie, Daniel S. (Daniel Steele), 1819-1892; Jones, N. P
Publication date: 1874
Publisher: Madison, Wis. : Atwood & Culver, stereotypers and printers
Number of Pages: 450


USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > Madison > A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin : including the Four Lake country : to July, 1874, with an appendix of notes on Dane County and its towns > Part 1


Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.


Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36



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V.V. Ceuttu 1876


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Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Getty Research Institute


https://archive.org/details/historyofmadison00durr 0


IOLAVO MINIS NISNOOSLA


A


HISTORY OF MADISON,


THE CAPITAL OF WISCONSIN ;


INCLUDING


THE FOUR LAKE COUNTRY


- To JULY, 1874,


WITH AN


APPENDIX


OF NOTES ON DANE COUNTY AND ITS TOWNS.


BY


DANIEL S. DURRIE, Librarian of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin.


MADISON, WIS. : 1874.


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year eighteen hundred and seventy-four,


BY DANIEL S. DURRIE, .in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.


ATWOOD & CULVER. STEREOTYPERS AND PRINTERS. MADISON, WIS.


PREFACE.


THE author of this volume has long been impressed with the fact, that much information relative to the early and later history of Madison and adjacent country, had not been written; and that some one should under- take the task of compiling the necessary materials for such a work, availing himself of the opportunity now afforded to consult those of our citizens who established themselves here as pioneers and early set- tlers, before circumstances should render it impossible to do so. Many of these have passed away; others have removed to new localities, and the few that now remain, will, in the ordinary course of events, be with us but a short period.


It is true, that a portion of our history has been written. To Maj. H A. TENNEY we are indebted for many interesting facts collected in past time, which were published in a small pamphlet in 1851, and subse- quently re-printed. In 1857, Hon. L. C. DRAPER prepared a similar work, much enlarged; but these pamphlets, while they accomplished the object of their publication, in drawing public attention to the beauty and desirability of Madison as a place of settlement, did not go into the minutiæ of our early history, and necessarily were written up only to the date of publication, and are now out of print. The changes and improvements that have since taken place, have been so marked as to entitle Madison to a history more complete and brought down to the present time, and the present work is designed to supply such a deficiency.


It is not necessary to offer any apology for local history -the main object of which is to furnish the first elements of general history, to record facts rather than deductions from facts. In these municipali- ties - these separate incorporations - are to be found many of the first moving causes which tend to operate on and revolutionize public


4


PREFACE.


opinion. Many facts, minute in themselves, are in this view very im- portant. The details, which is the appropriate province of the local historian to spread before the public, are not so much history itself, as materials for history, leaving to the general historian, who has before him all these details, to exhibit the connection of the several parts, and their dependence one upon another.


The present volume has been prepared from information derived from the Madison newspaper files in the library of the Historical So- ciety - from pioneers - from the village, town and city records, and every reliable authority accessible; and, it is believed, that what is herein stated is in all respects true; or, if there are errors, they will not be found important.


The writer is greatly indebted to many of the early settlers for the interest they have taken in the publication of this volume, and for their personal reminiscences of early times; among these may be named Mrs. ROSELINE PECK, of Baraboo, Wis., the first settler of that place as well as Madison; R. L. REAM, Esq., of Washington, D. C .; Gen. S. MILLS, of Madison; Hon. M. M. STRONG, of Mineral Point, Wis .; J. T. CLARK, Esq., of Topeka, Kansas; Dr. C. B. CHAPMAN, Maj. H. A. TENNEY, and R. W. LANSING, Esq., of Madison. Thanks are also due to LYMAN C. DRAPER, LL. D., Secretary of the State Historical Society, for valuable assistance. Among this number also, who took a deep interest in the enterprise, was the Hon. JOHN CATLIN, one of our most honored pioneers. This gentleman, while laboring under protracted illness, furnished much information of his early residence at Madison. While this work was passing through the press, and on the 4th of August, 1874, he departed this life at his residence at Elizabeth, N. J., in the 71st year of his age, highly respected by every one.


The illustrated edition of this work has been prepared by Mr. N. P. JONES, Photographer, Madison, whose reputation in his department is unrivalled.


MADISON, Wis., October 1, 1874.


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


CHAPTER I.


ABORIGINAL AND FRENCH HISTORY - ANTIQUITIES - ARRIVAL OF" EBENEZER BRIGHAM - THE BLUE MOUNDS - VISIT OF M ESSRE- DOTY, BAIRD AND MARTIN, 1828 -THE FOUR LAKES - INDIAN TROUBLES AT BLUE MOUNDS -THE BLACK HAWK WAR - WAKE- FIELD'S ACCOUNT OF FOUR LAKE COUNTRY - CAPT. LOW'S VISIT - EARLY TRADERS : ARMEL, ROWAN, RASDALL, ST. CYR - COL. WM. B. SLAUGHTER - SURVEYS BY J. V. SUYDAM -TOPOGRAPHICAL. DESCRIPTION OF MADISON -HON. JOHN CATLIN'S REMINISCENCES. 9-44


CHAPTER II.


LOCATION OF SEAT OF GOVERNMENT -TERRITORIAL ORGANIZATION --- HON. M. M. STRONG'S EARLY SURVEYS - VISIT OF A. F. PRATT,. 1837 - ARRIVAL OF EBEN PECK AND FAMILY - FEATHERSTO" HAUGH'S VISIT, 1837 -- ARRIVAL OF A. A. BIRD AND PARTY - WOOLCOCK'S ACCOUNT -DESCRIPTION OF OLD CAPITOL - HOTEL -NAMES OF WORKMEN -S. MILLS' ARRIVA OF EARLY BUILDINGS - MRS. ROSELINE PECK'S


CHAPTER IT


VISIT OF GEN. W. R. SMITH, 1837 - FIRST ENQUIRER " AND OTHER NEWSPAPE' ERS -POLL LIST OF 1839 -" M KNAPP'S ACCOUNT, 1838 - JULY ! CHANTS -P. E. CHURCH ORGANI 1838-9.


6


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


CHAPTER IV.


DANE COUNTY AFFAIRS, 1840 - PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH HIS- TORY CONTINUED - NATIONAL ANNIVERSARY, 1840 - CONGREGA- TIONAL CHURCH ORGANIZATION - SETTLERS, 1840 - REV. DR. A. BRUNSON'S FIRST VISIT - IMPROVEMENTS, 1841 - DANE COUNTY RESIDENTS, 1841 - SCHOOLS - KILLING OF HON. C. C. ARNDT - NEWSPAPERS, 1842-5 - VISIT OF J. A. BROWN AND DR. GOODHUE - CENSUS, 1843 - KENTUCKY HOUSE - MADISON, 1843 - IMPROVE- MENTS: SCHOOLS, 1844-5 - MADISON LODGE OF FREE AND AC- CEPTED MASONS - NARRATIVES OF R. W. LANSING AND H. A. TEN- NEY. 125-165


CHAPTER V.


VILLAGE AND TOWN ELECTIONS 1846-49 - WATER POWER - CELEBRA- TION, JULY 4, 1846- PUBLIC CEMETERY - DR. C. B. CHAPMAN'S AND J. T. CLARK'S REMINISCENCES - HOPE LODGE I. O. O. F. - KNAPP'S ACCOUNT OF CAPITOL GROUNDS - L. J. FARWELL'S ARRIVAL - FIRST BELL IN MADISON -- ORGANIZATION OF BAPTIST CHURCH 1847- TRIAL OF GROSS FOR MURDER - GROWTH OF VILLAGE, 1848- STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 1849 - STATE UNIVERSITY. 166-203


CHAPTER VI.


HYER'S REMINISCENCES OF COVALLE, PINNEO, UBELDEEN, TOM JACKSON, JUDGES FRAZER AND IRVIN -KNAPP'S NOTICE OF IRVIN - A LEAF OF WESTERN HISTORY - UNIVERSITY PROPERTY AND IMPROVEMENTS - ELECTIONS, 1850-3 - Gov. FARWELL'S IMPROVEMENTS - SCHOOLS, 1850-3-NEWSPAPERS -MADISON MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY - FOURTH OF JULY - PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH ORGANIZATION AND HISTORY - CAPITOL HOUSE -PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, 1852-4- BAP- T CHURCH ERECTED- R. CATHOLIC CHURCH - MADISON INSTITUTE "NG OF RAILROAD TO MILWAUKEE - BRUEN'S BLOCK -LAKE CURE - STATISTICS. 204-243


CHAPTER VII.


T 1855. - ELECTIONS 1855-'61 - GAS LIGHT CHURCH - SCHOOLS, 1855-6 - PUBLIC AND - CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH - NATIONAL MADISON INCORPORATED AS A CITY, AT BEDS - CITY HALL - UNIVERSITY NSANE COMMENCED, AND NEW STATE ZATION OF MILITARY COMPANIES - ERLAND -OF COL. JAMES MOR- 31. 244-284


7


TABLE OF CONTENTS.


CHAPTER VIII.


REBELLION HISTORY, CONTINUED -DEATH OF GOV. HARVEY - ELEC" TIONS, 1862-69 - PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 1862-69 - OLD CAPITOL DEMOL- ISHED, AND SOUTH WING BUILT - STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY HIS- TORY - DEATH OF NATHANIEL AMES - STEAM NAVIGATION - BUSI- NESS STATISTICS, 1865-68 - HISTORY OF GOVERNOR'S GUARD- AR- TESIAN WELL -NATIONAL ANNIVERSARIES, 1867-70 - U. STATES COURT HOUSE - PUBLIC AND PRIVATE IMPROVEMENTS. 285-326


CHAPTER IX.


EFFORTS TO REMOVE THE STATE CAPITAL - NOTICE OF COL. BIRD - HISTORY OF GRACE CHURCH, CONTINUED - PARK HOTEL COM- PANY - UNIVERSITY WARD SCHOOL HOUSE - "STATE JOURNAL " REMINISCENCES - PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS, 1870-4 - FEMALE COL- LEGE -SCHOOLS - NATIONAL ANNIVERSARY - RAILROAD ENTER- PRISES - THE MESSERSMITH HOUSE - YACHT AND BOAT CLUBS - NOTICE OF JOHN STONER - PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IMPROVE- MENTS - METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH - ARTESIAN WELL- HIGH SCHOOL BUILDING - ELECTIONS, 1870-4 - GRACE CHURCH CHIMES - CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH BUILDING -- DANE COUNTY CAVE - CONCLUSION. 327-381


APPENDIX.


MADISON CITY OFFICERS.


383-390


DANE COUNTY AND TOWNS. 391-413


MADISON


AND THE


FOUR LAKE COUNTRY OF WISCONSIN.


CHAPTER I.


ABORIGINAL AND FRENCH HISTORY - ANTIQUITIES - ARRIVAL OF EBENEZER BRIGHAM - THE BLUE MOUNDS - VISIT OF MESSRS. DOTY, BAIRD AND MARTIN, 1828 - THE FOUR LAKES - INDIAN TROUBLES AT BLUE MOUNDS -THE BLACK HAWK WAR - WAKE- FIELD'S ACCOUNT OF FOUR LAKE COUNTRY - CAPT. LOW'S VISIT - EARLY TRADERS: ARMEL, ROWAN, RASDALL, ST. CYR - COL. WM. B. SLAUGHTER - SURVEYS BY J. V. SUYDAM - TOPOGRAPHICAL DESCRIPTION OF MADISON - HON. JOHN CATLIN'S REMINISCENCES.


IT would be interesting, if not profitable, to know when and through whom the section of country now occupied by the city of Madison and adjoining the Four Lakes, was first made known to Europeans; but. it is one of those questions much easier asked than answered.


.


Wisconsin, it is well known, was visited at an early date by the Jesuit Fathers, and a mission established at the Rapids de Pere, on the Fox river, near Green Bay, in 1669. In June, 1673, the Upper Mississippi river was discovered by Father MARQUETTE and his companion JOLIET, who passed up the Fox and down the Wisconsin rivers to the Mississippi. This was the great thoroughfare through Wisconsin for a long period but we do not find any record of explorations to the north or


10


HISTORY OF MADISON AND THE


south of those streams, until Capt. JONA. CARVER passed down the Wisconsin to the "Great Town of the Saukies, " Prairie du Sac, in October, 1766, and while at that place made an ex- cursion to what he calls "some mountains that lie about fifteen miles to the southward, and abound in lead ore." These moun- tains are now known as the " Blue Mounds."


There is every reason to believe that the "Four Lake Coun- try " was not unknown to the French traders soon after a trad- ing post was established at Green Bay; and it is a well estab- lished fact that, early as 1655, there were Frenchmen engaged in trade at that point; and, wherever there is a reasonable prospect of gain, there will be found the hardy adventurer, however difficult the path or dangerous the road.


These traders and their employés, while collecting peltries, visited every available location, and it is not a reasonable sup- position that this rich section of country, abounding with lakes the favorite abode of fur-bearing animals, should have been overlooked or unknown. Again, it was the interest of these persons to keep the knowledge they had acquired to themselves for their own particular benefit; and, in connection with this subject, Capt. CARVER in his narrative* says: "I can- not help remarking that all the maps of these parts I have ever seen are very erroneous -- the rivers, in general, running in different directions from what they really do, etc. Whether this is done by the French geographers (for all English maps are copied from theirs) through design, or for a want of a just knowledge of the country, I cannot say." Some of these maps would indicate that the country south of the Wisconsin was generally swampy, and apparently of little value.


"These singular men, the trappers," says Hon. J. Y. SMITH, " were shrewdly silent in regard to their wanderings and ex- plorations, especially when they extended to beautiful and fer- tile regions. It was part of their policy to discourage immi- gration of those who were devoted to industrial pursuits, as they anticipated therefrom competition and the general decline


* " Travels in the Interior Parts of North America in 1766, '67 and '68, by Capt. J. Carver. London. 1778. Svo."


11


FOUR LAKE COUNTRY OF WISCONSIN.


of their trade which must inevitably follow upon the settle- ment of the country."


The Four Lake Country, we also know, was the favored locality of that mysterious race who long since inhabited this state, and who have left behind those remarkable mounds and earth-works, fortifications and embankments which are found in the most beautiful locations in this vicinity.


I. A. LAPHAM, LL.D., in his valuable work on the Antiquities of Wisconsin, refers to some of these mounds, and as they are fast disappearing, and some of them no longer in existence, his account will prove interesting :


"In the vicinity of the Four Lakes, where Madison, the capital of the state is situated, the mound-builders have left unusually numerous traces of their former occupancy and in- dustry. These lakes are united by a stream called the Catfish, now known as Yahara, through which the waters are con- veyed to the Rock river. The mounds, situated six and twelve miles west of the Four Lakes, were among the first of the ani- mal-shaped mounds of which an account was published in Silliman's Amer. Jour., Vol. XXXIV, etc. A figure on the Third Lake (Monona), near the residence of Ex-Gov. FAIRCHILD, was fortunately rescued from oblivion by Mr. F. HUDSON, in 1842. Its length was 318 feet, and shape of a lizard. In grad- ing Wisconsin avenue and Wilson street it had to be removed. On the north side of Lake Wingra, on the road to Monroe, there is an irregular row of mounds, comprising two quadru- peds, one bird, and one mound with lateral projections, five oblong and twenty-seven circular tumuli."


Accurate drawings and surveys of these and other mounds in this vicinity are given in Dr. LAPHAM's valuable work.


The Sac and Fox nations of Indians were for a long period the occupants of the Fox river valley country and of the Wis- consin, before the permanent settlement was made. They were a warlike race of old, as we know that nearly two hundred years since, the French who had rarely become involved with the aborigines, were obliged by force of arms to wrest from them the privilege of transit between Green Bay and the Mis-


12


HISTORY OF MADISON AND THE


sissippi. The lakes were their favorite resort owing undoubt- edly to the abundance of fish and water fowl; the shallow bays were literally covered spring and autumn with myriads of ducks. The larger game of deer were numerous, and the marshes. afforded abundance of peltry.


The ground upon which Madison is built, was in common with most of the region included between the Mississippi and the Wisconsin and Rock rivers, purchased from the nations in 1825, at which time they relinquished all claim to lands east of the Mississippi. These Indians were reputed among the early settlers to be peculiarly faithless and savage. They seemed to have repented the surrender of their old hunting grounds, and in 1831 we find them again on the east side of the river, greatly annoying the settlers and destroying much property. They were speedily driven back, and entered into a new treaty with the United States, the terms of which were much the same as those of the treaty of 1825. The next year they again returned to the east side of the river, and shortly after took place what is usually known as the "Winnebago Outbreak," succeeded by the Black Hawk War; after which the Indians were again and permanently removed to the west, and tranquility ensued.


The first pioneer settler within the present county of Dane, was Colonel EBENEZER BRIGHAM. This gentleman was so identified with our history, that it is necessary to give a me- moir of his life and the events connected therewith. No one ever lived in this section that was better known or more highly appreciated than Col. BRIGHAM. He died at Madison, Septem- ber 14, 1861, in the 72d year of his age.


EBENEZER BRIGHAM was born at Shrewsbury, Worcester county, Mass., April 28, 1789. In 1818 he came to Olean Point in the State of New York. The Alleghany river was then the only channel known through western New York, and that was only navigated by canoes, rafts or skiffs. He came through in a canoe, and at Pittsburgh took a flat boat down the Ohio river. The villages on the river were all small. During the journey down he saw but one steamboat. On arriving at


13


FOUR LAKE COUNTRY OF WISCONSIN.


Shawneetown, he landed and walked through to St. Louis. There was nothing at that place but a small French settlement - not more than three or four brick houses in the town. In 1822 he first set foot upon Wisconsin soil, but not to remain. At Galena he found Col. JAMES JOHNSON, a brother of Col. RICHARD M. JOHNSON, who was just opening the mines, and subsequently he spent a short time at Springfield. In 1827 he embarked for Wisconsin with an ox team. At that time there was a large emigration to the lead mines, in the southwestern part of the state, as the ore was abundant and the price remunera- tive. He remained a while near Platteville and was engaged in mining, and with a small party pitched his tent (so to speak) on what is now the Block House branch of the Platte river. From this point the party retreated in haste to Galena, owing to the commencement of hostilities by the Indians. In the spring of 1828 he removed to Blue Mounds, the most advanced outpost in the mines. The only source of food supply was from Galena. Soon after he had raised his cabin he took a trip with two companions to Fort Winnebago to ascertain whether food could not be more easily obtained at that point. The route taken, was north of Fourth Lake, probably on or near the line of the old military road afterwards laid out. They obtained a supply of salt pork, hard bread, powder and some other things, of a sutler, not loading heavily, and on the return struck south, striking the old trail that formerly ran between the Third and Fourth Lakes, following it up to the hill where the capitol now stands, where they encamped over night. Intercourse with the Indians had made known to them the existence of the lake region before they started. From the enchanting view of the spot, he predicted that a village would be built there, and prob- ably the future capital of the Territory. The isolated condition where he settled will be apparent from the statement of a few facts. The nearest settler was at what is now Dodgeville. Min- eral Point and other mining places where villages have since grown up, had not then been discovered. On the southeast the nearest house was on the O'Plaine river, twelve miles west of Chicago. On the east, SOLOMON JUNEAU was his nearest neigh-


14


HISTORY OF MADISON AND THE


bor at the mouth of Milwaukee river, and on the northeast, Green Bay was the nearest settlement.


Shortly after locating at the Mounds, Mr. BRIGHAM, in com- pany with Col. WM. S. HAMILTON and M. GRATIOT and some others, visited Green Bay in order to settle on certain bounda- ries between the whites and the Indians. The line was fixed upon, and the Indians blazed the trees along this line, notify- fying the whites not to pass it, a prohibition about as effectual as the whistling of the wind.


For several years after his coming, the savages were the sole lords of the soil; a large Indian village stood near the mouth of Token Creek; another stood on the ridge between Second and Third Lakes, and their wigwams were scattered all along the streams. When the capital was located here, he was the nearest settler to it, though twenty-five miles distant.


Soon after his settlement, he was honored with the appoint- ment of magistrate from Governor LEWIS CASS. He held this commission four years, and all the duty he performed during that time was to marry one couple. He often related an anec- dote of being called upon to go some thirty miles to marry a couple, but on arriving within a short distance of the place, word had been left there that the fair lady had changed her mind, and he must not come any farther. Mr. BRIGHAM, how- ever, went on and introduced another friend, who succeeded in making a contract, and the next spring he was called upon to ratify it, and this was the only official act of a four years term of justice of the peace.


The principal object of his location at this point, as before stated, was mining for lead, and at the same time cultivating the soil. One of the leads on his land was " proved " before his death to the depth of seventy-five to one hundred feet when the workmen were prevented by water from going deeper. Up- wards of four million pounds were taken from this lead with no other machinery than the common windlass, rope and tub. This lead was hauled to Green Bay, Chicago and Galena. On his first trip to Chicago, there was not a house or wagon track between that place and Blue Mounds. He was fifteen days in


15


FOUR LAKE COUNTRY OF WISCONSIN.


reaching his destination, fording with his oxen and load of lead the Rock and Fox rivers and the smaller streams on the route. In this expedition he was accompanied by a favorite dog, for which he was offered in Chicago a village lot, which was situated where now is the most valuable property in that city. In those days the whole site of the town could have been purchased for a few hundred dollars.


Col. BRIGHAM, at the organization of the territorial govern- ment, was elected a member of the council, and was re-elected, serving nine terms, from 1836 to 1841. When the state government was organized, 1848, he was elected a member of assembly. He died at the residence of his niece, Mrs. H. G. BLISS, at Madison, September 14, 1861, aged seventy-two years.


A short description of the Four Lakes, in the vicinity of Madison, and the Blue Mounds, may prove of service, taken from I. A. LAPHAM's " History of Wisconsin:"


There are in all, twelve lakes in Dane county - but the principal, and those most attractive, are the Four Lakes, lying in the valley of the Cat Fish or Yahara, and nearly in a direct line from northwest to southeast.


KEGONSA, OR FIRST LAKE .- This lake is the lowest of the four. Its longest diameter is three and one-eighth miles by two miles in its shortest; its circumference is nine and a half miles, and it covers five square miles. It is situated nine miles above Dunkirk Falls, near the southern line of the county, and lies in the towns of Dunn and Pleasant Springs.


WAUBESA, OR SECOND LAKE .- This body of water lies three and a half miles above Kegonsa. Its length is three and a half miles, and its width about two; and with it, has an average depth of about twelve feet. The larger part is in the town of Dunn, and the remainder in Blooming-Grove.


MONONA, OR THIRD LAKE, is next above, at a distance of seven-eighths of a mile. It is about six and a half miles long, by two broad, occupying an area of six square miles. Madison, the County Seat and Capital of the State, is located on the strip of land about one mile across, between this and Lake Mendota.


16


HISTORY OF MADISON AND THE


The larger part is in the town of Blooming-Grove and the remainder in Madison.


MENDOTA, OR FOURTH LAKE .- This is the uppermost and by far the largest of the Four Lakes. It has a periphery of nine- teen and one-fourth miles, and covers an area of fifteen and sixty-five one hundreths square miles. Its diameter is six miles by nine. The larger part is in the town Madison and the remainder in Westport.


Each lake is surrounded by a broad valley, which, with the bottom lands bordering upon the numerous small streams, flowing into them, on all sides, forms a portion of agricultural country of unsurpassed fertility.


The water of all these lakes, coming from springs, is cold and clear to a remarkable degree. For the most part, their shores are made of a fine gravel shingle; and their bottoms, which are visible at a great depth, are composed of white sand, interspersed with granite boulders. Their banks, with few exceptions, are bold. A jaunt upon them affords almost every variety of scenery - bold escarpments and overhanging cliffs, elevated peaks, and gently-sloping shores, with occasional · strips of meadow land between, affording magnificent views of the distant prairies and openings.


The BLUE MOUNDS are two conical hills, about one mile apart, one in Iowa, and one, the largest, in Dane county, twenty-five miles west of Madison, and twelve miles south of the Wisconsin river.


On the western line of Dane county, the highest peak rises to an altitude of 1,931 feet above the sea, and 1,072.5 above the lakes at Madison. Going west from the city, the visitant passes successively across the out-crop of every principal geological deposite in the state. He ascends from the upper layers of the lower or Potsdam sandstone, across the lower magnesian, the upper or ferruginous sandstone, the blue fossili- ferous limestone, the upper magnesian or lead-bearing rock, and ends upon the crest on a layer of some four hundred feet thickness of hornstone - a sharp, siliceous deposit filled with chest nodules, flint and fossilizations. The mounds of all this




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