, 1865-07-17
A TRnf. NoKrMsyARD.
Up the St, Cr0II-KrAuttes OF Nature
Lr:s aud Lumber-ss Sat1nsa Sent.,s

Correspondents OF the CHICAGO Tsibuce.l
TA1LoR's FALLS, MINI, July II, 1865.
Ny last letter was written from Hudson,
july 4sh. The next day went to Saltwater,
which is 8 pretty town at the head of the ST..
Croi1 lake. The State Pen!tentiary is located
here. It contains. am told, only thirty or
1orty conyicta. Pity that we cannot transfer
to it some parties connected with our Joliet
neutrality-suspicious. inmat tes OF contracto. q
wouldn't much matter. The day following I
took the steamer Enterprise, for Taylor's
Falls, which is thirty miles above Saltwater.
The Enterprise isabout as large as 10 average
tug in the Chicago river, and, as the current
Is rapid, and We had two bArEes In toW, our
progress YVES as slow as that Of O Christian
cneompasscd with beeetting sins. Occasion
ally log would get under the bow, aad
then We would taekslide little. In four
hourr we made only twelve miles. Not find
Ing this very. excl Ing, ! got of It Marine
tm>n town, wi b q huge hotel; or rather.
Remembering the diftnEce between salt
oox" and "hox Of salty should say
hugh building, intended for hotel. Bnt It's
owner va. " finished" before the building
was and 1t stands. uuoccupied and imprinted,
n monument Of III luck. An appropriate
sign for 1t would be the old ep,tapa:
1
Iwonder wblt w4s begun fort"
At pieh,fal reach Osceo'a, 3 village on
the Wisconsin side Of the river, which chiefly
Impressed me as remarkable for the size aud
number Of its musquitoce. Ny walk during
the afternoon Was by 1oad little frequ.nted,
through lonely woods. The country near the
liver is as Jet scarcely touched by the axe or
and couple Of deer crossed my path. The
dsy was clear and cool, and after the heat
and dust Of the city It Was an exquisite pleas
ue 10 breathe the pure mountain air, with
green turf sprirg1ng under foot, the forest
Trees arching overhead, and heavens blue
seems less bright thsn Fhen seen through
green leaves or reelected IN some CLASSY
fpripg. The beautiful lines Of Bryant might
have betn written ss description or the
scene around me.
Here are old trees. tsn oaks aud Guatled pines
Tkht ehca1n with gEas-GEseu mosses. Here the
wss ne,e. torcbed b, epsde, snd flowers spring up
untoEn AEd die unEatherea lis sweet
70 1inEes here aTosf shs atnnz h,,os,
Ttat sbaEe the Leaves and scatter - they pass
a ilagr.ufe from The eeosrs. th,ckly tes.a
Tuh pa,e blue berries.
Tsylcr's Falls Is at tue head OF navigation
en- the St. C1o!I- From above, for hundred
mfleF. ITS swift cur1tnt brings down logs By
the hundred thousand from the vast plne1ies.
While in the RIVER, these logs have Wild
ard yagrant career, now borne swiftly On,
nnd amen checked BY juttlng rock, or rest
ing quietly in some little bayou. Lie the
herds upon Texan praries. the logs Of hun
drrd owners are scattered Promiacuously for
t1ity leagues. At Saltwater they are collect
cd once more to conir:1. ha-nesbsd together
IL 'tstripgs'' and RATS. thence to pursue Their
decent and orderly way In search Of a marker.
or fcourse lumber is the great topic Of cen.
ve1satien here. Instead Of 1emarktng upon
the weather, people speculate upon the num-
bcr Of logs lhat arc coming down, and the
ctauces Of their getting euokcd at the dsu.
II not unfrequently happens that they be-
oyerceme the river is seon ba.icaded the
swift current urges foIwud the logs behind,
which are driven to the bottom q pushed
high ur above The water, a1a the mighty msss s,s
couiusion. It's an interesting sight to watch
Tie logs as they c1me over tue falls. They