River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-07-31
LEVEL NOTES.

found that my previous knowledge OF
its geography was rather defective and
feeling both that it is important that
every one should have ut least tolera
bly, accurate information as TO his own
county, and also that it is quite likely
that the ideas of others may not be
more correct than my own, venture
to give you a little account of things
as / saw them.
Our trip took us down the Trimbelle
vale. and thence by way of Maiden
Rock to Ellsworth. We found the
Trimbelle valley to be rather narrow
and tortuous and hemmed III by high
bluffs-a feature it has in common
with most. of the valleys of Pierce
county-the main popularity being
that the bluffs are lower where they
come near the river than those on
Rush River, and there are more broad
and long valleys branching into it
than in the case of the latter; but on
the other hand the main valley is not
as wide and the river descendS far
more rapidly, affOrding quite numer-
Gus water powers, some of which are
well improved. To my surprise we
found that about six miles below the
village of Trimbelle, the highway ceas-
es to exist and for some distance we
were obliged to pass through fenced
fields and to perform that always Pc
culiarly onerous labor to the traveller,
of taking down fences. NJ course ace
put them all up again. The interval
lands in the valley seem TO have very
rich and deep soil, and at the time OF
our visit the crops presented beautl-
full appearance; the grain fields were
of deep emerald hue and fringed as
they are there with the dark green of
the oak forests, presented ut every
new vista of the landscape, a scene
worthy of painters skill. Indeed 1t
seems to me that we do not half appre-
ciate the beauties of the home views;
at nearly every house we see pictures
Of valleys and streams not half SO
picturesque as many Of those near
home, but we find few home views.
Perhaps the reason may be found in
the fact that the one we have near at
hand and so need no embodiment of it
by the artists pencil. The lower
Trimbelle widens out into Il rarely
beautiful interval land, and even here
River bottoms. The valley of the
former is somewhat rolling, the lat
ter. for miles, nearly level, each has
its own peculiar beauty, and 1t would
be difficult indeed to choose between
them. We left the Trimbelle at the
head of the Trenton prairie, long
stretch of plain now undulating III
picturesque waves of land and then re-
ceding away in level fields i'll the
highest state of cultivation, clear to
the grand old Father of Waters.
There seems to be quite evidently
an ancient water course leading from
IL point at the termination of the bluff
on the east side of the river and run
ming southerly for about three miles
to the present valley OF the MisSissip-
ri. This old water course may at
sons long past day have been the out
let of the ancient Trlmbelle, ana ey-
erything seems to support the theory
that it is so. Indeed, we cannot very
well doubt that the whole valley of
the upper Mississippi was at no very
distant date. geologlcally speaking,
much higher than 1t now Is, and at
that time we can well believe that the
Trimbelle flowed southerly near its
mouth instead of northerly us ut pres
sent, and Il lake over the present
Trenton prairie may then have borne
upon its broad area of waters the ca
noes of the mound builders or some
still more ancient race whose very eX
istenoe has been long forgotten. Then
Lake Pepip may have extended to the
,,,, ~a,lt Falls Of 81, Anthony and
What is now beautiful valley e9 3,,e,'
with fields of waving g. " I've NJ siad
broad and picturesque lake stutt"Se !
with islands and almost rlNallng the |
great lakes III the extent OF It's sur |
face of waters. Nor is this mere |
idle conjecture; there seems to be !
abundant proof that much OF TINS
was once overlooked and en- |
inent engineers believe that sometime |
in the past the great Red River OF |
the North discharged its waters down
the Valley of the Mississippi.
From Trenton prairie our route took |
rs down to one of the most romantic |
places i'll Pierce county-Bay city.
This place was at an early day one OF |
the Metropolisvilles, made famous by |
the genius of Egglest0n, one OF the |
famous paper cities of our early his |
tory. and we cannot wonder that the |
fertile imagination of one Of those |
early spectators who saw great pos |
sibilties i'll every rivers bend, should |
have been attracted to this place and |
have laid out on the undulating plain
Il city. But those days of wild specu- |
lation have passed away and the |
dreams of its early founder came to |
and the only marks of Il city |
that ever existed. the stakes that deS- |
ignated the lots, have long since cruIn- |
bled into dust; but the most enduring |
of all things, the name, remains, and |
the home and broad acres OF our host |
Tyler still retain the proud name of
Bay City-and very pleasant indeed |
were the hours of rest on his vine |
shaded veranda, looking out upon the |
bay at the head of Lake Pepin from |
which the embryo city derived it's |
name. The Lake here sweeps out H. |
to a broad eXpanse of water bounded |
by Il curving beach, sloplng by easy |
gradient down to the beach and on the |
beach lie scattered the wrecks Of |
wears. not, it is true, Of Shipwrecked |
vessels. but the mighty monarchs of |
the forests who dared to thrust their |
roots too near the angry river. And |
here, too. were the remains of RATS |
caught i'll some unpropitious moment |
by the fierce storms, that sometimes
sweep over the bosom of the lake with |
a wrath almost equalling those on the
Atlantic coast.
Back of Bay City there is quite
a wide expanse of prairie and just be-
low comes in the valley of the Isa-
belle. There the land is so low as
to be overlooked at high water and of |
course not cultivated, but it is cover
ed with heavy growth of cottonwood |
and other trees which enjoy low moist |
lands.
Our next will give an account of our !
trip to Maiden Rock and subsequent
travels.
John B. Gough ora Temperance.
The American Temperance Publishing |
House, OF No 30 Rose Street, New York, has
Just issued three OF Mr.. Coughs Lectures Gu
No. i. ''Our Battle Cry: Total Absti-
hence"
No. .. "The Power Of Appetite"
No. "The Only Remedy"