USA > Wisconsin > Vernon County > History of Vernon County, Wisconsin, together with sketches of its towns, villages and townships, educational, civil, military and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 56
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Autumn, including September, October and November, is of short duration in Wisconsin. North of the 42d parallel, or the southern boundary line of the State, November belongs properly to the winter months, its mean tem- perature being about 32 deg. The decrease of heat from August to September is generally from 8 deg. to 9 deg .; 11 deg. from September to October, and 14 deg. from October to November. The average temperature for these three months is about 45 deg. A beautiful season, commonly known as Indian summer, frequently oceurs in
the latter part of October and in November. This period is characterized by a mild temper- ature and a hazy, ealm atmosphere. According to Loomis, this appears to be due to "an uneom- monly tranquil condition of the atmosphere, during which the air becomes filled with dust and smoke arising from numerous fires, by which its transpareney is greatly impaired." This phenomenon extends as far north as Lake Superior, but it is more conspicuous and pro- traeted in Kansas and Missouri, and is not ob- served in the southern States.
Destructive frosts generally occur in Septem- ber, and sometimes in August. "A temperature of 36 deg. to 40 deg. at sunrise is usually attended with frosts destructive to vegetation, the posi- tion of the thermometer being usually such as to represent less than the actual refrigeration at the open surface." In 1875, during October, at Milwaukee, the mercury fell seven times be- low the freezing point, and twice below zero in November, the lowest being 14 deg.
The winters are generally long and severe, but occasionally mild and almost without snow. The mean winter temperature varies between 23 deg. in the southeastern part of the State, and 16 deg. at Ashland, in the northern. For this season the extremes are great. The line of 20 deg. is of importance, as it marks the av- erage temperature which is fatal to the growth of all the tender trees, such as the pear and the peach. In the winter of 1875-'76, the mean temperature for December, January and February, in the upper lake region, was about 4 deg. above the average mean for many years, while during the previous winter the average temperature for January and February was about 12 deg. below the mean for many years, showing a great difference between cold and mild winters. In the same winter, 1875-76, at Milwaukee, the thermometer fell only six times below zero, the lowest being 12 deg., while during the preceding winter the mercury sank thirty-six times below zero, the lowest be- ing 23 deg. In the northern and northwestern
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part of the State the temperature sometimes falls to the freezing point of mercury. During the exceptionally cold winter of 1872-3, at LaCrosse, the thermometer sank nearly fifty times below zero; on December 24, it indi- cated 37 deg. below, and on January 18, 43 deg. below zero, averaging about 12 deg. below the usual mean for those months. The moderating effect of Lake Michigan can be seen by observ- ing how the lines indicating the mean winter temperature curve northward as they approach the lake. Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Two Rivers and the Grand Traverse region of Michigan, have the same average winter tem- perature. The same is true regarding Ga- lena, Ill., Beloit and Kewaunee. A similar in- fluence is noticed in all parts of the State. Dr. Lapham concludes that this is not wholly due to the presence of Lake Michigan, but that the mountain range which extends from a little west of Lake Superior to the coast of Labrador (from 1,100 to 2,240 feet high) protects the lake re- gion in no inconsiderable degree from the ex- cessive cold of winter.
According to the same authority, the time at which the Milwaukee river was closed with ice, for a period of nine years, varied between No- vember 15 and December 1 ; the time at which it became free from ice, between March 3 and April 13. In the lake district, snow and rain are interspersed through all the winter months, rain being sometimes as profuse as at any other sea- son. In the northwestern part the winter is more rigid and dry. Northern New York and the New England States usually have snow ly- ing on the ground the whole winter, but in the southern lake district it rarely remains so long. In 1842-43, however, sleighing commenced about the middle of November, and lasted till about the same time in April-five months.
The average temperature for the three months of spring, March, April and May, from Wal- worth county to St. Paul, is about 45 deg. In central Wisconsin the mean for March is about 27 deg., which is an increase of nearly 7 deg.
from February. The lowest temperature of this month in 1876 was 40 deg. above zero. April shows an average increase of abont 9 deg. over March. In 1876 the line of 45 deg. for this month passed from LaCrosse to Evanston, Illinois, touching Lake Erie at Toledo, showing that the interior west of Lake Michigan is warmer than the lake region. The change from winter to spring is more sudden in the interior than in the vicinity of the lakes. "In the town of Lisbon, fifteen miles from Lake Michigan," says Dr. Lapham, " early spring flowers show themselves about ten days earlier than on the lake. In spring, vegetation in places remote from the lakes, shoots up in a very short time, and flowers show their petals, while on the lake shore the cool air retards them and brings them more gradually into ex- istence." The increase from April to May is about fifteen degrees. In May 1876 Pembina and Milwaukee had nearly the same mean tem- perature, about 55 degrees.
The extremes of our climate and the sudden changes of temperature no doubt have a marked influence, both physically and mentally, on the American people. And though a more equable climate may be more conducive to perfect health, the great range of our climate from arctic to trophical. and the consequent variety and abundance of vegetable products, combine to make the Mississippi valley, perhaps, one of the most favorable areas in the world for the development of a strong and wealthy Nation.
During the months of summer, in the interior of the eastern United States, at least three fourths of the rainfall is in showers usually ac- companied by electrical discharges and limited to small areas. But in autumn, winter and spring, nearly the whole precipitation takes place in general storms extending over areas of 300, 500 and sometimes over 1,000 miles in diameter, and generally lasting two or three day. An area of low atmospheric pressure causes the wind to blow toward that area from all sides, and when the depression is sudden and
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great, it is accompanied by much rain or snow. On account of the earth's rotation, the wind blowing toward this region of low pressure is deflected to the right, causing the air to circulate around the center with a motion spirally inward. In our latitude the storm commences with east winds. When the storm center, or area of lowest barometer, is to the south of us, the wind gradually veers, as the storm passes from west to east with the upper current, round to the northwest by the north point. On the south side of the storm center the winds veer from southeast to southwest by the south point. The phenomena attending such a storm when we are in or near the part of its center are usually as follows: After the sky has become overcast with clouds, the wind from the northeast gener- ally begins to rise and blows in the opposing direction to the march of the storm. The clouds which are now moving over us discharge rain or snow according to circumstances. The barome- ter continues to fall, and the rain or snow is brought obliquely down from the northern quarter by the prevaling wind. After a while the wind changes slightly in direction and then ceases. The thermometer rises and the barome- ter has reached its lowest point. This is the
center of the storm. After the calm the wind has changed its direction to northwest or west. The wind blows again, usually more violently than before, accompanied by rain or snow, which is now generally of short duration. The sky clears, and the storm is suddenly succeeded by a temperature 10 or 20 degrees below the mean. Most of the rain and snow falls with the east winds, or before the center passes a given point. The path of these storms is from west to east, or nearly so, and only seldom in other directions. These autumn, winter and spring rains are generally first noticed on the western plains, but may originate at any point along their path, and move eastward with an average velocity of about twenty miles an hour in summer and thirty miles in winter, but some- times attaining a velocity of over fifty miles,
doing great damage on the lakes. In predicting these storms, the signal service of the army is of incalculable practical benefit, as well as in collecting data for scientific conclusions.
A subject of the greatest importance to every inhabitant of Wisconsin is the influence of forests on climate and the effects of disrobing a country of its trees. The general influence of forests in modifying the extremes of tempera- ture, retarding evaporation and the increased humidity of the air, has already been mentioned. That clearing the land of trees increases the temperature of the ground in summer, is so readily noticed that it is scarcely necessary to mention it; while in winter the sensible cold is never so extreme in woods as on an open surface exposed to the full force of the winds. The lumbermen in Canada and the northern United States labor in the woods without inconvenience when the mercury stands many degrees below zero, while in the open grounds, with only a moderate breeze, the same temperature is almost insupportable. In the State of Michi- gan it has been found that the winters have greatly increased in severity within the last forty years, and that this increased severity seems to move along even-faced with the de- struction of the forests. Thirty years ago the peach was one of the most abundant fruits of that State; at that time frost, injurious to corn at any time from May to October, was a thing unknown. Now the peach is an uncertain crop, and frost often injures the corn. The precise influence of forests on temperature may not at present admit of definite solution, yet the me- chanical screen which they furnish to the soil, often far off to the leeward of them,is sufficiently established, and this alone is enough to encour- age extensive planting wherever this protection is wanting.
With regard to the quantity of rain-fall, we cannot positively affirm that the total annual quantity of rain is even loclaly diminished or increased by the destruction of the woods, though both theoretical considerations and the
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balance of testimony strongly favor the opinion that more rain falls in wooded than in open countries. One important conclusion, at least, upon the meteorological influence of forests is certain and undisputed; the proposition, namely, that, within their own limits, and near their own borders, they maintain a more uniform degree of humidity in the atmosphere than is observed in cleared grounds. Scarcely less can it be questioned that they tend to promote the fre- quency of showers, and, if they do not aug- ment the amount of precipitation, they probably equalize its distribution through the different seasons.
There is abundant and undoubted evidence that the amount of water existing on the surface in lakes and rivers, in many parts of the world, is constantly diminishing. In Germany, obser- vations of the Rhine, Oder, Danube and the Elbe, in the latter case going back for a period of 142 years, demonstrate beyond doubt that each of these rivers has much decreased in volume, and there is reason to fear that they will eventually disappear from the list of navi- gable rivers.
The Blue-Grass region of Kentucky, once the pride of the west, has now districts of such barren and arid nature that their stock farmers are moving toward the Cumberland mountains, because the creeks and old springs dried up, and their wells become too low to furnish water for their cattle. In our own State "such has been the change in the flow of the Milwaukee river, even while the area from which it receives its supply is but partially cleared, that the proprietors of most of the mills and factories have found it necessary to resort to the use of steam, at a largely increased yearly cost, to supply the deficiency of water- power in dry seasons of the year. What has happened to the Milwaukee river has happened to all the other water-courses in the State from whose banks the forest has been removed; and many farmers who selected land upon which there was a living brook of clear, pure water,
now find these brooks dried up during a con- siderable portion of the year.
Districts stri pped of their forest are said to be more exposed than before to loss of harvests, droughts and frost. Hurricanes, before un- known, sweep unopposed over the regions thus denuded, carrying terror and devastation in their track. Parts of Asia Minor, North Africa, and other countries bordering on the Mediterranean, now almost deserts, were once densely populated and the granaries of the world. And there is good reason to believe that it is the destruction of the forests which has produced this devastation. From such facts Wisconsin, already largely robbed of its forests, should take warning before it is too late.
GEOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE UNDERLYING FOR- MATIONS OF VERNON COUNTY. {By T. C. Chamberlin, State Geologist.] I .- Potsdam Sandstone.
After the great Archaan upheaval, there fol- lowed a long period, concerning which very lit- tle is known-a lost interval in geological his- tory. Itis only certain that immense erosion of the Archæan strata took place, and that in time the sea advanced upon the island, eroding its strata and redepositing the wash and wear be- neath its surface. The more resisting beds withstood this advance, and formed reefs and rocky islands off the ancient shore, about whose bases the sands and sediments accumulated, as they did over the bottom of the surrounding ocean. The breakers, dashing against the rocky cliffs, throw down masses of rock, which imbed- ded themselves in the sands, or were rolled and rounded on the beach, and at length were buried, in either case, to tell their own history, when they should be again disclosed by the ceaseless gnawings of the very elements that had buried them. In addition to the accumulations of wash and wear that have previously been the main agents of rock formations, abundant life now swarms in the ocean, and the sands become the great cemetery of its dead. Though the con-
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tribution of each little being was small, the myri- ad millions the waters brought forth, yielded by their remains, a large contribution to the aceu- mulating sediments. Among plants there were sea-weeds, and among animals, protozoans, radiates, mollusks and articulates, all the sub- kingdoms except the vertebrates. Among these, the most remarkable, both in nature and number, were the trilobites, who have left their easts in countless multitudes in certain locali- ties. The result of the action of these several agencies was the formation of extensive beds of sandstone, with interstratified layers of lime- stone and shale. These surrounded the Arch- @an nucleus on all sides, and reposed on its flanks. On the Lake Superior margin, the sea acted on the copper and iron-bearing series, which are highly ferruginous, and the result was the red Lake Superior sandstone. On the oppo- site side of the island, the wave-action was mainly upon quartzites, porphyries and granites and resulted in light-colored sandstones. The former is confined to the immediate vicinity of Lake Superior; the latter occupies a broad, irreg- ular belt bordering on the Arehæan area on the sonth, and, being widest in the central part of the State, is often likened to a rude crescent. The form and position of the area will be best apprehended by referring to the accompanying map. It will be understood from the foregoing description, that the strata of this formation lies in a nearly horizontal position, and repose un- conformably upon the worn surface of the crys- talline roeks. The close of this period was not marked by any great upheaval; there was no crumpling or metamorphism of the strata, and they have remained to the present day very much the same as they were originally deposited, save a slight arching upward in the central por- tion of the State. The beds have been some- what compacted by the pressure of superinenm- bent strata and solidified by the cementing ae- tion of calcareous and ferruginous waters, and by their own coherence, but the original charae- ter of the formation, as a great sand-bed, has not
been obliterated. It still bears the ripple-marks, cross-lamination, worm-burrows, and similar markings that characterize a sandy beach. Its thickness, is very irregular, owing to the un- evenness of its Arehæan bottom, and may be said to range from 1,000 feet downward. The strata slope gently away from the Arehæan core of the State and underlie all the later forma- tions, and may be reached at any point in south- ern Wisconsin by penetrating to a sufficient depth, which can be caleulated with an approx- imate correctness. As itis a water-bearing for- mation, and the source of fine artesian wells, this is a fact of mueh importance. The interbed- ded layers of limestone and shale, by supplying impervious strata, very much enhance its value as a source of fountains.
II. Lower Magnesian Limestone.
During the previous period, the accumulation of sandstone gave place for a time to the forma- tion of limestone, and afterward the deposit of sandstone was resumed. At its elose, withont any very remarked disturbance of existing con- ditions, the formation of limestone was re- sumed, and progressed with little interruption till a thickness ranging from fifty to 250 feet was attained. This variation is due mainly to irregularities of the upper surface of the for- mation, which is undulating, and in some local- ities may appropriately be termed billowy, the surface rising and falling 100 feet in in some cases, within a short distance. This, and the preceding similar deposit, have been spoken of as limestone simply, but they are really dolomites, or magnesian limestones, since they contain a large proportion of carbonate of magnesia. This rock also contains a notable quantity of silicia, which occurs dissseminated through the mass of rock; or, variously, as no- dules or masses of chert; as crystals of quartz, filling or lining drusy cavities, forming beautiful miniature grottoes; as the nucleus of oolitic concretions, or as sand .. Some argilla- ceons matter also enters into its composition, and small quantities of the ores of iron, lead
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and copper, are sometimes found, but they give little promise of value. The evidences of life are very scanty. Some sea-weeds, a few mol- Insks, and an occasional indication of other forms of life, embrace the known list, except at a few favored localities where a somewhat ampler fauna is found. But it is not, therefore, safe to assume the absence of life in the depositing seas, for it is certain that most limestone has originated from the remains of animals and plants that secrete calcareous mate- rial, and it is most consistent to believe that such was the case in the present instance, and that the distinct traces of life were mostly oblit- erated. This formation occupies an irregular belt skirting the potsdam area. It was, doubt- less, originally a somewhat uniform band swinging around the nucleus of the state al- ready formed, but it has since been eroded by streams to its present jagged ontline.
III --- St. Peter's Sandstone.
At the close of this sandstone-making period there appears to have been an interval of which we have no record, and the next chapter of the history introduces us to another era of sand ac- eumulation. The work began by the leveling up of the inequalities of the surface of the low- er magnesian limestone, and it ceased before that was entirely accomplished in all parts of the State, for a few prominenees were left pro- jeeting through the sand deposits. The mate- rial laid down consisted of asilicious sand, of uniform, well-rounded-doubtless well-rolled- grains. This was evidently deposited horizon- tally upon the uneven limestone surface, and so rests in a sense unconformably upon it. Where the sandstone abuts against the sides of the limestone prominences, it is mingled with material derived by wave action from them, which tells the story of its formation. But aside from these and other exceptional impurities, the formation is a very pure sandstone, and is used for glass manufac- ture. At most points the sandstone has never become firmly cemented and readily crumbles, !
so that it is used for mortar, the simple handling with piek and shovel being sufficient to reduce it to a sand. Owing to the unevenness of its bottom, it varies greatly in thickness, the great- est yet observed being 212 feet, but the aver- age is less than 100 feet. Until recently, no organie remains had ever been found in it, and the traces now collected are very meagre indeed, but they are sufficient to show the existence of marine life, and demonstrate that it is an oceanic deposit. The rarity of fossils is to be attributed to the porous nature of the rock, which is unfavorable to their preservation. This porosity, however, subserves a very useful purpose, as it renders this pre-eminently a water-bearing horizon, and supplies some of the finest arte- sian fountains in the State, and is competent to furnish many more. It occupies but a narrow area at the surface, fringing that of the lower magnesian limestone on the south. See map. IV-Trenton Limestone.
A slight charge in the oceanic conditions caused a return to limestone formation, accom- panied with the deposit of considerable clayey material, which formed shale. The origin of the limestone is made evident by a close examination of it, which shows it to be full of fragments of shells, corals, and other organic remains, or the impressions they have left. Countless numbers of the lower forms of life flourished in the seas, and left their remains to be comminuted and consolidated into limestone. A part of the time the accumulation of elayey matter pre- dominated, and so layers of shale alternate with the limestone beds, and shaly leaves and partings occur in the limestone layers. Unlike the calcareous strata above and below, a portion of these are true limestone, containing but a very small proportion of magnesia. A suthi- cient amount of carbonaceous matter is present in some layers to cause them to burn readily. This formation is quite highly metalliferous in certain portions of the lead region, con- taining zine especially, and considerable lead,
.
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with less quantities of other metals. The for- mation abounds in fossils, many of them well preserved, and, from their great antiquity, they possess uncommon interest. All the animal sub-kingdoms, except vertebrates, are repre- sented. The surface area of this rock borders the St. Peter's sandstone, but, to avoid too great complexity on the map, it is not distin- guished from the next formation to which it is closely allied. Its thickness reaches 120 feet.
REAL AN EARLY DEED FOR VERNON COUNTY ESTATE.
This Indenture, made this seventeenth day of May, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, between Samuel Read, of the county of Crawford and territory of Wisconsin, of the first part and John Me- Culloch, of the county and territory aforesaid, of the second part, witnesseth, that the said party of the first part for and in consideration of the sum of thirty dollars to me in hand paid, by the said party of the second part, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, have remised, released, sold, conveyed and quit-claimed and by these presents do remise, release, sell, con- vey and quit-claim, unto the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, all the following described lot or parcel of land, situate, being and lying in the county of Craw- ford, and known and designated as follows: Twenty-four acres of (off) the west side of the the northwest quarter of the northeast quarter of section number thirty-six, in township num- ber twelve north, of range number five west of the fourth principal meridian. To have and to hold the same, together with all and singular, the appurtenances and privileges thereunto be- longing, or in any wise appertaining, and all the estate, right, title, interest and claim what- soever of the said party of the first part, either in law or equity, in and to the above described premises to the only proper use, benefit and be- hoof of the said party of the second part, his heirs and assigns forever, and the said party of
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