of fire, and take into consideration the thickness of the layers of ashes, it is fair to conclude that each occupation of the cave must have continued some considerable period of time. The layers of sand are easily accounted for, as resulting from the disintegration of the soft rock above the cave, as it fell down from the edge of the cliff, which would naturally drift into the cavern or shelter, and, more or less rapidly, make the layers mentioned, and although the rock of the sides and roof of the cave are quite soft, the disintegration has been exceedingly slow, as there has been no percolation of water, and especially since the closure of the opening the forest has not acted upon the walls; so that the change since that time, at least, has been very slight indeed, and accounts for the well-preserved condition of the pictures. It is, perhaps, impossible to say during which of these occupations of the shelter the drawings were made; but, taking into consideration the height of the zone of pictures above the first and second occupations, they could hardly be referred to either of these, and, therefore, must have been made during the third or fourth occupation, and from the proof positive of the closure of the cave for a period of at least one hundred and fifty years, a considerable antiquity must be allowed. I have an interesting fac simile of an attempt at history-writing by the Sioux, with its interpretation. It is a rough representation of some one event in each year, occurring during the period from 1800 to 1870, and very much resembles some of the sketches in this cave. After a careful comparison of these and similar Indian drawings I have, I am forced to the conclusion. that these representations in the La Crosse Valley Pictured Cave are also of Indian origin. Everything about them indicates this, especially the drawing of the human figure with eight plumes on his head can be regarded in no other light than as an Indian of some note, who displayed his eight feathers as indicating the taking of so many scalps, and would be so interpreted by any Sioux or other Northwestern Indian. If these conclusions are correct, the greatest antiquity allowable would be from, perhaps, three to eight hundred years. POLITICAL BOUNDARIES. The territory which is now embraced in La Crosse County formed, prior to 1851, a part of Crawford County. In 1851, the same territory which is now embraced in La Crosse County, with the exception of that part of Township No. 19 north, of Range No. 7 west, which lies south of Black River, was set off by the Legislature of the State as La Crosse County. In 1856, by act of Legislature, Townships Nos. 19 north, of Range Nos. 5 and 6 west, in the county of Jackson, were attached to and made part of La Crosse County. Subsequently, by the Revised Statutes of 1858, these two townships were set back into Jackson County and that portion of Township No. 19 north, of Range No. 7 west, which lies south of Black River, was made a part of La Crosse County, leaving the present boundaries of the county as described in said revised statutes and in the Revised Statutes of 1878, as follows: "Beginning at a point in the western boundary line of this State in the Mississippi River, where the township line between Townships 17 and 18 intersects said boundary line, running thence east on said township line to the main channel of Black River; thence up the main channel of Black River to the range line between Ranges 6 and 7, west; thence south on said range line to the township line between Townships 18 and 19; thence east on said township line to the range line between Ranges 4 and 5, west of the meridian aforesaid; thence south on said range line to the township line between Townships 14 and 15; thence west on said township line, to the western boundary line of this State, in the Mississippi River; thence northerly up the main channel of said river to the place of beginning." The extent of the county, according to these boundaries, is from Jackson and Trempealeau Counties on the north (Trempealeau County being partly on the west), to Vernon County on the south and from Monroe County on the east to the Mississippi and Black Rivers on the west, Houston and Winona Counties, in Minnesota being on the west side of the Mississippi River, opposite to La Crosse County, and Tempealeau County being upon the north and west side of Black River, opposite La Crosse County. The county contains all of the full Townships 15, 16, 17 and 18, of Range 5; Townships 15, 16, 17 and 18, of Range 6, and Township 17, Range 7; all of the fractional Townships 15, and 16, Ranges 7 and 17, Range 8, and 17, Range 9, and all of those portions of Townships 18, Ranges 8, and 19, Range 7, which lie south and east of Black River. The area of these townships or parts of townships within the county is as follows: Township 15, Range 5......... Township 15, Range 6..... Township 18, Range 6... Township 15, Range 7.. Township 16, Range 7.. Township 18, Range 7.... Township 19, Range 7.... 23,125.97 23,158.14 22,881.01 22,830.99 22,970.67 22,740.05 22,669.61 22,710.55 18,817.88 21,423.96 22,869.63 22,629.59 1,502,82 4,250.89 18,136.25 10,175.89 651,24 303,545.14 The towns, city and villages into which the county is divided for local government, and the number of acres in each, are as follows: The county is divided topographically into the land in the valleys of streams, the hillsides bounding these valleys, a large extent of bottom lands along the Mississippi and Black Rivers subject to annual overflow, a few sandy prairies, numerous dry valleys and ravines with the hillsides bounding them, and elevated table-lands upon the top of the ridges. Black River flows through a portion of the county, and forms the northern and western boundaries of another portion. It has itself no distinct valley in La Crosse County, but flows through the bottom and prairie lands which lie in the valley of the Mississippi River. The main mouth of Black River is in the northern part of the city of La Crosse, and is about seven miles north of the southern boundary of the county, about eleven miles south of the northern boundary of the county on the Mississippi River, and eighteen and a quarter miles south of the extreme northern boundary of the county on Black River. Besides this main mouth, it has two other mouths or channels, which run from the main channel to the Missis sippi River. The northerly one of these two channels is called Hammond Chute, and the southerly Gibbs' Chute. The mouth of Hammond Chute is about one and a half miles south from the northern boundary of the county, on the Mississippi River, and about nine miles south of the extreme northern boundary of the county. The mouth of Gibbs' Chute is about four and a quarter miles south of the north line of the county, on the Mississippi River, and eleven and three-quarter miles from the extreme northern boundary of the county on Black River. Along the whole course of Black River, in La Crosse County, there are sloughs and bayous which encroach upon or intersect and ramify the adjacent bottom lands. For a distance of several miles, it has, besides its main channel, another separate and distinct channel, known as Black Snake. There is also, in another place, another distinct channel, known as Broken Gun. The bottom lands in the county which are subject to annual overflow, and which lie in the valley of the Mississippi River, through a large portion of which Black River flows, amount to about 33,000 acres. The principal, and in fact only value of these lands is for timber and hay. The timber is mostly soft maple, birch and elm, with some ash, hackberry and other varieties. A great part of the original timber has been cut off, but the rapid growth of the soft maple and birch fast replaces it. The prairie lands in the county amount to about 20,000 acres. The lands in the valleys of the streams amount to about 145,000 acres. This is all rich and fertile, and is the most valuable land of the county. The steep hillsides bounding these valleys with the dry ravines and hillsides bounding them amount to about 38,000 acres, and the elevated table-lands with the rolling lands and hillsides not too steep for cultivation, amount to about 62,000 acres. This has all of it a clay subsoil, and is the best kind of land for the production of wheat. WATER-COURSES AND THEIR IMPROVEMENTS. The rivers in La Crosse County or upon its boundaries, are the Mississippi, Black and La Crosse Rivers; the two last named flow into the Mississippi River within the county. The Mississippi River as has been stated, forms the greater part of the western boundary of the county. The following statistics in regard to this river opposite La Crosse, are found in a "Report upon the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi River," prepared by Capt. A. A. Humphrey and Lieut. Abbot, submitted in 1861, and published in 1867: "The distance of La Crosse from the mouth of the river (that is the mouth of the Upper Mississippi being at its junction with the Missouri) is 514 miles; the elevation above the sea is 638 feet. The fall per mile is 0.22 feet, the width between banks is 5,000 feet, the least lowwater depth upon bars is 2 feet, the range between high and low water is 14 feet, the area at high water is 100,000 square feet." Since this report was made there has been a greater range between high and low water, that is between low water of 1863 and 1864, and the high water of 1880, this range being 16 feet, and owing to certain improvements made by the Government upon the river opposite and above La Crosse, the least low-water depth upon bars is said by those who run boats upon the river to have been increased. These improvements consist in the building of low-water dams with fascines and stones. across the head of the east channel of the river above La Crosse, and above the mouth of the Black and La Crosse Rivers, and across the head of the west channel of the river opposite La Crosse, commonly known as Raft Channel. Black River forms the north boundary of that part of the county embraced in Townships 17 and 18 north, of Range 7 west, and Township 18 north, of Range 8 west, and the western boundary of that portion of the county embraced in Township 18 north, of Range 8 west, and from the south line of said township. Black River flows, as has been described, in several channels through bottom-lands, and empties through different mouths, as have been described, into the Mississippi River. Black River is a sluggish stream, and but for the improvements made by the Black River Improvement Company, would be so obstructed by sand-bars as to be unnavigable. This company, under a charter from the State, has improved the stream by wing dams and dredging for the purpose of running logs from the pineries at its source, and on its tributaries. These logs. are sawn at the mills at La Crosse, and at points on the Mississippi River below La Crosse. Black River is kept open and navigable for the largest steamers on the Mississippi as far as the boat-yard of the packet company, in the Fifth Ward of La Crosse, about a mile above its mouth. La Crosse River enters the county near the middle of the eastern boundary, and runs in a southwesterly direction across the whole width of the county, east and west, emptying into the Mississippi at the city of La Crosse. The La Crosse River, although meandered by the United States Surveyors when the public lands were surveyed, is not navigable. There are two flouring-mills upon the river within La Crosse County, one at the village of Neshonoc, about the center of the county, one mile north of West Salem, a station on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul and Chicago & North-Western Railroads, and another about two miles below Neshonoc. The former of these two mills is owned by Alexander McMillan, and has six run of stone; one of these run is exclusively for grinding feed, and the other five, with rolls and modern machinery, for making patent flour. The capacity of this mill is one hundred barrels of flour and twenty-four tons of feed per day. The dam at this mill is ten feet high; and would furnish power for several more run of stone. The dam could be raised ten feet higher, which would give a power for a mill with a capacity of from six to eight hundred barrels of flour per day. The other mill upon La Crosse River has two run of stone, and is owned by H. Lovejoy. There is sufficient fall in the river below the Lovejoy Mill for two other water-powers of about eight feet head each. Upon the creeks tributary to La Crosse River, there are mills as follows: On Dutch Creek at Bangor, a flouring-mill owned by J. Bosshart and H. Legler, in which there are two run of stone. There is also a woolen-mill on the same stream, owned by Otto Bodman and the estate of J. Ruedy. On Bostwick Creek, there are two flouring-mills, one owned by O. S. Barlow, and the other known as the Barre Mills, owned by William Rugs. These two creeks are upon the south side of the La Crosse River. On Big Creek, near the eastern boundery of the county upon the north side of the La Crosse River, there is a flouring-mill owned by Manuel Roberts. On Burns Creek, also on the north side of La Crosse Kiver, there are two mills, one a saw-mill owned by D. Vaughn, and the other a flouring-mill owned by L. Bowen. Upon Fleming Creek, in the northern part of the county, which empties into Black River, there are two flouring-mills, the Union Mill, owned by James Barclay, and another owned by J. A. Young. There are also a feed and saw mill on this creek owned by H. N. Sly. Upon Halway Creek, which empties into Black River about six miles above La Crosse City, there are two flouring-mills, one near Midway, owned by A. Grams, and one about two miles above owned by C. Christianson. Upon Mormon Creek, in the south part of the county, there are three flouring-mills. This creek rises in the eastern part of the county upon the west side of the town of Washington, Township No. 15 north, of Range No. 5 west. It runs through the central part of the lower tier of townships in the county, about twelve miles, and empties into what is called Mormon Slough. This slough is really a part of the Mississippi River, flowing from it a short distance below the city of La Crosse, and running back into it in Vernon County, about fourteen miles below La Crosse. The lower mill upon Mormon Creek is owned by Valentine Oehler, and has three run of stone. The second mill, counting from the mouth of the stream, is owned by Matthias Blumer, and has three run of stone. The third, or upper mill, is owned by S. McKown, and has three run of stone. Upon Coon Creek, there is a flouring-mill owned by Joseph Nedwielek. This creek rises in the northeastern part of the town of Washington, and flows through the central part of the town southward into Vernon County where it empties into Coon River. Chipmunk Creek (a small part of which is within the county along its southern boundary. the remainder being in Vernon County), furnishes no water-power in La Crosse County, although there is a mill on this creek in Vernon County. This creek empties into Mormon Slough in Vernon County, a short distance below the southern boundary of La Crosse County. All of the remaining streams in La Crosse County not hereinbefore mentioned, are tributary to those named. The principal ones are Fish Creek, Thompson's Creek and Smith Creek flowing into the La Crosse River on the south side, and Adams' Creek and Thrasher's Creek flowing into the La Crosse River on the north side. The total number of mills run by water-power in La Crosse County as above described, are fifteen for flour and feed, one feed and saw mill, and one woolen-mill, eighteen in all. THE WINNEBAGO CONFEDERACY AND INDIAN OCCUPATION. For this article we are indebted to Judge George Gale's valuable work, "The Upper Mississippi," to whose compilation he gave years of labor and research, and which was the crowning effort of a most noble and useful life : When Sieur Jean Nicolet visited the O-chunk-o-raws, or Winnebagoes, at Green Bay, in 1639,* he spoke of them as then "sedentary and very numerous," but this fact has since been doubted, as, the following year, they were nearly exterminated by the Illinois, and if so easily exterminated, it was thought they could not have been very numerous. Again, it was said by authors, that the Winnebagoes were only an insignificant band of the Sioux, speaking a dialect of the Sioux language. But later investigations into the language of the Ochunkoraws and several other Western tribes, seem to establish the fact that they are the parent nation to a confederacy of an independent language, reaching from Lake Superior south to the Red River, and composed of the Winnebagoes, Menomonees, Iowas, Missouris, Osages, Kansas, Quapaws, Otoes, Omahas, Poncas, Mardans, and perhaps others. On this subject Rev. William Hamilton, who had for fifteen years been a missionary among the Iowas, and had published a grammar of their language, in answer to questions from H. R. Schoolcraft, wrote as follows: "There is no more difference between the language of the Iowas, Otoes and Menomonees than between the language of a New Englander and a Southerner. A few words are common to one tribe and not to another. They say the Winnebago is the full language. This may be true; if so, the Iowa, Otoe and Missouri languages would be one dialect; the Omaha and Ponca another; the Konza, Osage, Quapaw and Apaches (a band of the Osages), another; or, perhaps, the Omahas, Poncas, Konzas, etc., might all be called one dialect. * * The Osage, Konza, Quapaw, etc., are the same language. The Omaha and Ponca are the same. Many words of the Winnebagoes are the same in Iowa." -"Schoolcraft's History of the Indian Tribes," Part IV, pages 405, 406). * In the same volume, page 227, J. E. Fletcher, Esq., Indian Agent to the Winnebagoes, writes: "The Winnebagoes claim that they are an original stock, and that the Missouris, Iowas, Otoes and Omahas sprang from them. These Indians call the Winnebagoes their elder brothers, and the similarity of their language renders it probable that they belong to the same stock. Even in 1670, the Winnebagoes told Rev. Father Allouez that there were only certain people of the Southwest who spoke as they did.'" To this testimony we may add that of Mr. Saterlee Clark, an old Winnebago trader, and one of the few who ever learned the language, that he could converse with and understand the Iowas, and that the Iowas called themselves O-chunk-o-raws. Also the statement of the Winnebagoes to Gen. Sully, that they spoke the same language as the Omahas; and the further statement of James Reed, Esq., of Trempealeau County, Wis., to the writer, that he had not been able to learn the Winnebago language on account of its being so deeply gutteral, notwithstanding he had many years spoken Sioux, been a farmer and trader amongst them, and had a *Jean Nicolet visited Green Bay in 1634, not in 1639, as has been stated by historians for many years. Recent investigation has developed this fact. Vide "History Northern Wisconsin," Western Historical Co., Chicago: "Nicolet's Discovery of the Northwest," by C. W. Butterfield; Robert Clark & Co, Cincinnati. |