Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1879-04-30

Below we copy from the advance
sheets of the report of the State Board
of Health that part of the report
relating to the Crawfsh river. 1t
will be remembered that the Board
spent several days on this stream last
summer inve stigatiug it's sanitary con-
ditIon. The following will be read
with interest by large number of our
readers:
La obedience to the lsw which d.
reefs that this board shall make sanl-
tary investigation and inquiries re-
spectiug the causes of disease and NOR
taity, and 1.-The effects of localities.
employmeuts, conditions, habits and
circumstances on the health of the
people" it has during the past year
officially investigated the sanitary con-
dtIons of what is known IS the Craw-
fish Valley. in the counties of Jeffcr-
son and Dodge. Tie publicity which
has been given to this act, makes it
proper that special mention thereof
should be made in this report to your
excellency, and that the conclusions at
which this board has unanimously ar
rived after careful study of the evil
dence collected, should be stated.
The investigation was made at the
request of a large number of the resi-
dents Of that region, l45 of whom, in
Guiding citizens and official of the
towns of Milford, Shields. Portland
and Lowell, signed petitions, one of
which was presented from each of the
towns named, asking that such an in
vestigation be made.
These petitioners alleged that an ex-
cessive amount :of sickness, due, in
their opinion, to the overfowage of
lands caas ed by a mill dam erected on
the Crawfsh river, at Milford, pre-
vailed in the region referred to- This
board, having first sought to obtain all
available information concerning the
history and sanitary conditions of the
country by means of correspondence
and conference section of country en-
bracing at least eight or ten townships
For perhaps mile above the dam
referred to by the petitioners, the
river passes through highlands, and as
we'll defined and somewhat bold banks:
for four or five miles further, the east
ern bank of the stream is generally
fairly elevated, while that on the west
is very low, From this point north
ward for several miles, the land on
both sides of the river is fiat and
marshy, and much Of it is too nearly
on dead level ,for the unaided eye
to detect any deviation therefrom
This description applies to a tract
varying in width from comparatively
narrow. limits at the South to wide
marshes as one goes northward. The
movement of the water through
large part Of this 1tract is so slug
gish as to be scarcely descernible; to
the northward there is an extensive
body of Floating bog" portions of
which are from time to time detached
and driven, as the winds may favor,
until they find new places Of lodge
ment; thus causing additional obstruc-
ton to the fowage and tending to the
establishment .of new channels. In
many cases, the boundries of the
stream are wholly lost in overAowed
lands, which support only growths of
rushes, wild rice, and other aquatic
plants. In other places. probably to
the extent of thousands of acres, the
level of the ground water is SO near to
the surface that the land is capably
OF yielding only harvest of coarse
aud nearly valueless grass. The fat
land usually terminates quite abruptly