History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 47

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304

USA > Wisconsin > Dane County > History of Dane County, Wisconsin > Part 47

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RIVERS.

Central Wisconsin may be said to include portions of four distinct drainage systems-those of the Wisconsin, Black and Rock Rivers, flowing southward and westward to the Mississippi, and that of the Fox River, of Green Bay, flowing northward and eastward to Lake Michigan, and is thus tributary to the St. Lawrence. The direction and areas of these river systems are more or less directly influenced by the rock structure of the State. Extending into Wisconsin from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and forming the central nucleus of the northern half of Wisconsin, is a great mass of ancient crystalline rocks, which is bordered on all sides by newer and undisturbed formations, whose outcropping edges on the south, east and west succeed one another in concentric bands. The central crystalline mass, probably for the most part never covered by later formations, includes the highest land in the State. It has a general slope to the south ward, reaching its greatest elevation-1,100 feet above Lakes Michigan and Superior- along its northern edge, within thirty miles of the latter lake. The waters which fall upon it are

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HISTORY OF SAUK COUNTY.

shed in four different directions-to the north, into Lake Superior ; to the southeast, into Lake Michigan ; to the south, into the Wisconsin, which ultimately reaches the Mississippi, and to the southwest, directly into the last-mentioned river.

Wisconsin River .- This stream, which washes for about ten miles the northwest boundary of Dane County, is much the most important of those which drain the elevated lands of the State. Its total length from its source to its mouth is about 450 miles. It forms, with its valley, the main topographical feature of Central Wisconsin. Rising in Lac Vieux Desert, on the summit of the Archaan water-shed, at an elevation of 951 feet above Lake Michigan, it pursues a general southerly course for 300 miles over the crystalline rocks, and then, passing on to the sandstones which form its bed for the remainder of its course, continues to the southward some eighty miles more. Turning then westward, it reaches the Mississippi within forty miles of the south line of the State, at an elevation of only thirty feet above Lake Michigan, so that its fall from Lac Vieux Desert is 921 feet-an average of a fraction over two feet to the mile. Like all other streams which run to the south, southeast and southwest from the crystalline rocks, it has its quite distinct upper or crystalline rock portion and its lower or sandstone portion. This river, however, may be regarded as having three distinct sections-the first including all that part from the source to the last appearance of crystalline rocks in the bed of the stream, in the southern part of Wood County; the second, that part from this point to the Dells, on the south line of Adams and Juneau Counties ; and the third that portion from the Dells to the mouth of the stream. . The first of these divisions is broken constantly by rapids and falls, caused by the descent south of the surface of the Archaan area, and by the obstructions produced by the inclined ledges of rock which cross the stream. The second and third sections are alike in being almost entirely without rapids or falls, and in the nature of the red rock, but are separated by the con- tracted gorge known as the Dells, which, acting in some sort as a dam, prevents any consider- able rise in the river below, the water above not infrequently rising as much as fifty feet in flood seasons, whilst below the extreme fluctuation does not exceed ten feet. The total lengths of the Archæan, upper sandstone and lower sandstone sections of the river are respectively 250, 62 and 130 miles; the distance through the Dells being about seven and a half miles.

The width of the river, where it enters Marathon County, is from three hundred to five hundred feet. It pursues a general southerly course through Townships 29, 28, 27, 26, 25 and 24 north, of Range 7 east, and Townships 24 and 23 north, of Range 8 east, in the southern portion of Portage County. In this part of its course, the Wisconsin flows through a densely timbered country, and has, except where it makes rapids or passes through rock gorges, a narrow bottom land, which varies in width, is usually raised but a few feet above the water level, and is wider on one side than on the other. Above this bottom, terraces can often be made out, with surfaces in some cases one or two miles in width. Above, again, the country surface rises

steadily to the dividing ridges on each side, never showing the bluff edges so characteristic of the lower reaches of the river. Heavy rapids and falls are made at Wausau (Big Bull Falls), at Mosinee (Little Bull Falls), at Stevens Point and on Section 8, in Township 23 north, of Range 8 east (Conant's Rapids). All but the last named of these are increased in height by artificial dams. Two miles below the foot of Conant's Rapids, just after receiving the Plover River on the east, the Wisconsin turns a right angle to the west, and enters upon the sparsely timbered sand plains through which it flows for 100 miles. At the bend, the river is quiet, with high banks of sand, and a few low outcrops of gneiss at the water's edge. From the bend, the course. is westward for about nine miles, then, after curving southward again, the long series of rapids soon begins, which, with intervening stretches of still water, extend about fifteen miles along the river to the last rapid at Point Bass, in Southern Wood County.

East of the river line, between the city of Grand Rapids and Point Bass, the country rises gradually, reaching altitudes of one hundred feet above the river at points ten or fifteen miles distant. On the west, the surface is an almost level plain, descending gradually as the river is receded from. At Point Bass, the gneissic rocks disappear beneath the sandstones which for some miles have formed the upper portions of the river banks and now become, in turn, the

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

bed-rock, and the first division of the river's course ends. The main tributaries which it has received down to this point are, on the left bank, the Big Eau Claire, three miles below Wausau ; the little Ean Claire, on the north side of Section 3, in Township 25 north, of Range 7 east, just south of the north line of Portage County ; and the Big Plover, on Section 9, in Township 28 north, of Range 5 east, just at the foot of Conant's Rapids ; on the right bank, the Placota or Big Rib, about two miles below Wausau ; the She-she-ga-ma-isk, or Big Eau Pleine, on Sec- tion 19, in Township 26 north, of Range 7 east, in Marathon County ; and the Little Eau Pleine, on Section 9, in Township 25 north, of Range 7 east, in Portage County. All of these streams are of considerable size and drain large areas. They all make much southing in their courses, so that their lengths are much greater than the actual distances from the sources to the Wisconsin at the nearest point; and all of them have a very considerable descent, making many rapids and falls over the tilted edges of schistose and gneissic rocks, even down to within short distances of their junctions with the main river. The streams on the west side head on the high country, along the line of the Fourth Principal Meridian, about forty miles west of the Wisconsin, and at elevations of from two hundred to three hundred feet above their mouths ; those on the east head on the divide between the Wisconsin and Wolf, about twenty miles east, at elevations not very much less. Reaching back, as these streams do, into a country largely timbered with pine, and having so large a descent, they are of great value for logging and mill- ing purposes.

The second section of the Wisconsin River begins at Point Bass, with a width of from seven hundred to nine hundred feet. The next sixty miles of its course, to the head of the Dells, is a southerly stretch, with a wide bow to the westward, through sand plains, here and there timbered with dwarf oaks and interspersed with marshes. These plains stretch away to the east and west for twenty miles from the river bottom, gradually rising in both directions. Scattered over them, at intervals of one to ten miles, are erosion peaks of sandstone, from fifty to three hundred feet in height, rising precipitously from the level ground. Some of these are near and on the bank of the river, which is also, in places, bordered by low mural expos- ures of the same sandstone. The river itself is constantly obstructed by shifting sand-bars, resulting from the ancient disintegration of the sandstone, which, in the vicinity, everywhere forms the basement rock ; but its course is not interrupted by rock rapids. As it nears the northern line of Columbia County, the high ground that limits the sand plain on the west, curv- ing southeastward, finally reaches the edge of the stream, which, by its southeasterly course for the last twenty miles, has itself approached the high ground on the east. The two ridges, thus closing in upon the river, have caused it to cut for itself the deep, narrow gorge known as the Dells.

In the second section of its course, the Wisconsin receives several important tributaries. Of those on the east, the principal ones are Duck Creek and Ten-Mile Creek, in the southern part of Wood County ; and the Little and Big Roche-a-Cris Creeks, both in Adams County. The two former head in a large marsh twenty-five miles east of and over one hundred feet above the main stream. The two latter head on the high dividing ridge, on the west line of Wau- shara County, at elevations between one hundred and fifty and two hundred feet above their mouths. These streams do not pass through a timbered country, but have very valuable water- powers. Of those on the west, two are large and important-the Yellow and Lemonweir Rivers. Yellow River heads in Township 25 north, in the adjoining corners of Wood, Jackson and Clark Counties, and runs a general southerly course, nearly parallel to the Wisconsin for over seventy miles-the two gradually approaching one another and joining in Township 17 north, of Range 4 east. The Yellow River has its Archaan and sandstone sections-the former exceedingly rocky and much broken by rapids and falls, the latter comparatively sluggish and without rock rapids. The upper portions of the river extend into the pine regions, and much logging is done in times of high water. The water-powers are of great value. The Lemonweir is also a large stream. Heading in a timbered region in the southeast corner of Jackson County, it flows southward for some distance through Monroe, and, entering Juneau on the middle of its

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

west side, crosses it in a southeasterly direction, reaching the Wisconsin in Section 24, in Town- ship 15 north, of Range 5 east, having descended in its length of some seventy miles about two hundred feet.

The Wisconsin enters the gorge, already spoken of as the Dells, not far above the southern boundary line of Juneau and Adams Counties. This famous passage, of about seven and one- half miles, has been often described. At its foot, between the counties of Sauk and Columbia, the Wisconsin enters upon the last section of its course, and also upon the most remarkable bend in its whole length. Through the Dells, its general course is southward, but it now turns almost due east, in which direction it continues, with one or two subordinate turns southward for about seventeen miles, through low sand banks as far as Portage. Here it bends abruptly south again, and, reaching its most eastern point not far below, soon swerves around into the final southwest- ward stretch to the Mississippi. The cause of this long detour to the east is sufficiently evident. As the river leaves the Dells, it finds lying directly athwart its course two bold quartzite ranges, extending east and west through Sauk County for upward of twenty miles, and, crossing into Columbia, finally unite about eight miles east of the county line in a sharp and bold east- wardly projecting point, rising four hundred feet above the river bottom. Above Portage, where the Wisconsin forms the southern boundary line of the town of Lewiston, the ground immediately north is lower than the water in the river-the heads of Neenah Creek, a tributary of the Fox, rising a short distance from its banks. In times of high water, the Wisconsin over- flows into these streams, and thus contributes to a totally different river. At Portage, the Fox, after flowing south of west for twenty miles, approaches the Wisconsin, coming from the oppo- site direction. Where the two streams are nearest, they are less than two miles apart, and are separated by a low, sandy plain, the water in the Fox being five feet below that of the Wiscon- sin at ordinary stages. The greater part of this low ground is overflowed by the latter stream in times of high water, and to this is chiefly due the spring rise in the Fox River.

After doubling the eastern end of the quartzite ranges, as already said, the Wisconsin turns again to the west, being forced to this by impinging on the north side of a high belt of limestone country, which, after trending southward across the eastern part of Columbia County, veers gradually to a westerly direction, lying to the south of the river, along the rest of its course. Soon after striking this limestone region, the river valley assumes an altogether new character, which it retains to its mouth, having now a nearly level, for the most part treeless, bottom, from three to six miles in width, ten to thirty feet in height, usually more on one side than on the other, and bounded on both sides by bold and often precipitous bluffs, one hundred to three hundred and fifty feet in height, of sandstone capped with limestone. Immediately along the water's edge is usually a narrow timbered strip, rising two to four feet above the river, which is overflowed at high water. The line of bluffs along the north side of the valley is the northern edge of the high limestone belt just mentioned, which reaches its greatest elevation ten to fifteen miles south of this edge. In front of the main bluff-face, especially in its eastern extension, are frequently to be seen bold and high isolated outliers of the limestone country. On the north bank, the bluffs are at first the edges of similar large outlying masses, but farther down they become more continuous, the river crossing over the northwestward trending outcrop line of the Lower Magnesian limestone.

In this last section of its course, the Wisconsin is much obstructed by bars of shifting sand, derived originally from the erosion of the great sandstone formation which underlies the whole region, and to whose existence the unusual amount of obstruction of this kind in the river is due. The altitude of the water surface of the Wisconsin at Lac Vieux Desert above Lake Michigan, is 951 feet ; at Wausau, above dam, 623 feet ; at Knowlton (high), 538 feet- (low), 523 feet ; at Stevens Point, 485 feet ; at Conant's Rapids, 468 feet; at "Grand Rapids -railroad bridge, 420 feet ; at Kilbourn City-railroad bridge, 233 feet ; at Portage, 211 feet; at Merrimack, 182 feet; at Sauk City, 165 feet ; at Spring Green bridge, 134 feet ; at Muscoda, 115 feet ; at the mouth of the stream, 34 feet. The average velocity of the river below Portage is remarkably uniform, and is just about two miles per hour. The daily dis-

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

charges of the river at Portage, in times of extreme low water, is about two hundred and fifty-nine million cubic feet. The average fall of the water surface of the river below Portage is one and one-half foot per mile. This rapid fall, were it not for the great amount of sand in the river- bed, would make the stream a series of pools and rock rapids.

Rock River .- The Rock River, by its tributaries, drains, as we have already shown, all of Dane County, except its northwest part. This last-mentioned portion of the county-only one- tenth, in fact-is drained by the Wisconsin and its affluents. Rock River has no part of its main channel within the limits of the County-though Lake Koshkonong, which is but an enlargement of the stream, extends westward into a small portion of the town of Albion. Two of the principal western tributaries of Rock River are themselves rivers-Sugar River and the Yahara.

Sugar River .- This stream drains by two principal branches, as previously mentioned, a large part of the southwest portion of the county. The river proper, after leaving Dane and running through Green County, passes into the State of Illinois, discharging itself into Rock River, in Winnebago County.

The Yahara .- This stream (formerly known as the Catfish) crosses almost the entire width of the county from north to south. Its first course is a little to the southwest, until it reaches Lake Mendota. Passing through this lake, it takes a southeasterly direction, connect- ing it with Lakes Monona, Waubesa and Kegonsa. It then pursues the same general course until it enters Rock County from Section 35 of the town of Dunkirk., It empties into the Rock River on Section 19 of the town of Fulton, in the last-mentioned county.

LAKES.

There are a number of lakes in Dane County, but the principal, and those most attractive are "The Four Lakes," lying in the valley of the Yahara, and nearly in a direct line from northwest to southeast.

Mendota .- This is the uppermost and the largest of the four lakes. The larger part. was formerly in the town of Madison, and the remainder in the town of Westport; but " the entire surface, to the shores at high-water mark around it," is now included in the limits of the city of Madison. Its most northern shore is eleven miles south of the northern boundary of the county.

Monona .- This is the next lake below Mendota, and lies to the southeast of it, at a distance, in one place, of only 180 rods from it. Monona is also wholly within the limits of the city of Madison, though the larger part was formerly in the town of Blooming Grove, and the remainder in the town of Madison.

Waubesa .- This lake, the one next below Monona, and lying to the southeast of it a short distance, has its larger part in the town of Dunn, and the residue in the town of Blooming Grove.

Kegonsa .- The lowest of the four lakes is Kegonsa, distant from Waubesa, in a southeast direction, nearly three miles. It is seven miles north of the south line of the county, and lies in the towns of Dunn and Pleasant Springs.

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 an agricultural country of great fertility.

The water of all these lakes is cold and clear. Their bottoms, which are visible at a con- siderable 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 distant objects of interest.

A writer who visited these lakes during the Black Hawk war, in 1832, gives this account of them : " It may not be uninteresting to the reader to give a small outline of these lakes. From a description of the country, a person would very naturally suppose that those lakes were as little pleasing to the eye of the traveler as the country is. But not so. I think they are the

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HISTORY OF DANE COUNTY.

most beautiful bodies of water I ever saw. The first one that we came to [Monona] was about ten miles in circumference, and the water as clear as crystal. The earth sloped back in a gradual rise; the bottom of the lake appeared to be entirely covered with white pebbles, and no appear- ance of its being the least swampy. The second one that we came to [Mendota ] appeared to be much larger. It must have been twenty miles in circumference. The ground rose very high all around ; and the heaviest kind of timber grew close to the water's edge. If these lakes were anywhere else except in the country they are, they would be considered among the wonders of the world. But the country they are situated in is not fit for any civilized nation of people to inhabit. It appears that the Almighty intended it for the children of the forest. The other two lakes [Waubesa and Kegonsa] we did not get close enough to for me to give a description of them ; but those who saw them stated that they were very much like the others."

Could this writer now revisit these lakes he would see what a half-century has accomplished ; he would conclude now that " the country " these bodies of water "are situated in " is emi- nently fitted " for any civilized nation of people to inhabit."

The numerical names of the Four Lakes-" First Lake," "Second Lake," "Third Lake," " Fourth Lake "-by which they were formerly known,, had their origin in this wise : When the county was surveyed by the General Government, the surveyors numbered the lakes upon their plats in consecutive order. The survey having been commenced on the Illinois State line and carried north, the lower lake was the first one reached, and was noted as "First Lake ;" the next one above was marked as " Second Lake;" and so on. The first map of the Four-Lake country having the lakes marked upon it with any degree of accuracy, was compiled from these surveys, and the numbering of the lakes was retained as found upon the Government plats. Other maps were soon published, having these bodies of water designated in the same manner, and they were, as a consequence, so distinguished by the early settlers.

This use continued general until 1849. Whether or not the Indians had separate names for the lakes is unknown. Collectively, they called them " Ty-co-be-rah ;" that is, The Four Lakes ; hence, the Indians were spoken of as living, not on any particular lake, but at " The Four Lakes " -- Tycoberah.

" In 1849," writes Simeon Mills, "I employed a young man from Philadelphia by the name of Frank Hudson, to survey and plat what is known as the University Addition to Madi- son. Mr. Hudson was very fond of reading, devoting much time to such works as gave accounts of the habits and customs of the natives. While thus engaged, he found, in some Indian legends, the names Monona and Mendota, and at once suggested these appellations as suitable to the lakes which then limited, on either hand, the boundary of Madison. This suggestion was generally approved-Mendota being applied to the Fourth Lake, and Monona to the Third Lake."

" Some years later," continues Mr. Mills, " the subject of giving Indian names to all the lakes was brought up. The names Kegonsa and Waubesa were found and adopted by Gov. Farwell and others then taking an interest in the matter, as appropriate for the other two lakes -Waubesa for the Second Lake, and Kegonsa for the First Lake."

To make the naming of these lakes such a formal and public matter as to give it dignity and command respect, the following act was introduced into the Legislature, and became a law February 14, 1855:

An Act to change the names of the " First," "Second," " Third " and " Fourth " Lakes in Dane County and the Catfish River.

The people of the State of Wisconsin, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows :

SECTION 1. The " First" Lake, in Dane County, shall hereafter be known as Lake " Kegonsa."

SEC. 2. The "Second " Lake, in said county, shall be known and designated hereafter as Lake " Waubesa."

SEC. 3. The " Third " Lake, in said county, shall be known and hereafter designated as Lake " Monona."

SEC. 4. The " Fourth " Lake, in said county, shall be known and hereafter designated as Lake " Mendota."

SEC. 5. The stream now designated and now known as the " Catfish," shall be named and hereafter be known as the " Ya-ha-ra."

SEC. 6. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved February 14, 1855.

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The Four Lakes have awakened enthusiasm abroad as well as at home because of their beauty. Poets sing rapturously of these lakelets "strung like jewels on a cord of silver." Henry W. Longfellow, under date of January 20, 1876, writes : Four limpid lakes-Four Naiades Or sylvan deities are these, In flowing rohes of azure dressed; Four lovely handmaids, that uphold Their shining mirrors, rimmed with gold, To the fair City in the West .* By day, the coursers of the sun Drink of these waters, as they run Their swift, diurnal round on high; By night, the constellations glow Far down their hollow deeps below, And glimmer in another sky. Fair lakes, serene and full of light, Fair town, arrayed in robes of white, How visionary ye appear! All like a floating landscape seems In cloud-land or the Land of Dreams, Bathed in a golden atmosphere!

Aother poet has this description : I.

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History of Dane County, Wisconsin, Part 47

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub Publication date: 1880 Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company Number of Pages: 1304

Author: Butterfield, Consul Willshire, 1824-1899; Western Historical Co., Chicago, pub
Publication date: 1880
Publisher: Chicago : Western Historical Company
Number of Pages: 1304