The River Falls journal. (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1857-1861, 1857-06-13
A little walk.


MEssRs. EDIToRs - Thinking a little
change Of exercise, in the way Of footing
it through the country, might be benefi-
cial if not pleasant, | concluded to take a
bit of q tramp through the timber. l
started from Prescott, though, down the
river By the steamboat Northern Light,
one of the new boats Of the Packet Com
pany, and as well managed as any Of the
boats in the line. Capt. P. Lodwick, last
year Of the Northern Belle, and Messrs. J.
D. Dubois and E. K. Cooley, clerks, are
al superior officers, and general favorites
among travellers and business men who
know them.
landed at North Pepin little before
sunset, and in company with some friends,
began to look the place over. 1t is very
wen located on the 4e.1so shore Of f4r.ixe
Pepin, about six miles above Waumadee,
or Reeds Landing.
In the morning started on foot on the
Dunnyilie road, stages being too slow and
too expensive to be a popular means Of
travelling on that road. The country in
the Southern part Of Dunn County is
generally pretty good for farming purpo-
ses, though quite broken near the Chip
pewa. Long before night | had got as
far as Dead Lake Prairie, some sixteen
or eighteen miles from North Pepin.-
Here, where the road crosses the Eau
Gale, there comes in beautiful little
stream called the Arkansas, and short
distance up the creek village is laid out
and begun, which the proprietor, Mr..
Holbrook, calls Union Village. There are
some half dozen families there, a large
saw-mill in good operation, q furniture es-
tablisbment which makes some as nice
looking furniture of curly-maple and but
ternut as | have seen for many a day.
Several buildings are under way, and the
prospect is fair for thriving little village
soon.
| made very pleasant stay here over
night, and In the morning started up the
stream into the heavy, unbroken timber,
Of which such vast body lies in the
Eastern part Of Pierce and Western part
of Dunn Counties. I followed up the
creek to the head, some five or six miles,
crossing every few rods a little spring
brook forming tributary. Having ex-
anined the timber in this valley as much
as | wished, which, By the seay Voc the
principal object Of my tramp, I pushed on
towards home.
If q person wishes to appreciate prop
erly the romance of the forest, he ought
to tramp a day or SO in the timber thro'
this region. I plodded on in a Northwest
erly course across Plum creek, short dis
lance above the upper fork, striking Rush
river at Ell Passo. A mile or two from
this place | found the first mark of an Ak,
or any other sign of civilization had seen
since starting in the morning, some twen-
t. miles or more back. My progress all
day had been much impeded, owing to the
difficulty of carrying well filed carpet
sack through the brush, which in some
places on Plum creek and its tributaries
was almost impossible. I had become
very much fatigued in travelling and half
concluded that, unless I discovered some
settlers cabin very soon, should take
lodging on my own hook, thinking it
would be rather refreshing
"On the cold damp ground to sleep 50 sound !,
81 Passo, by the way, is not much Of
a place YET, (the only house there being
burned down some time this SPRING but