Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1898-10-13

at what he hears. Young blades, scarce
is years of age eager to be tough, spec
ulate on female character or condemn 1t
with freedom that is fearful to wit
ness. The names Of men and women of
their own and adjacent towns are ban
died about with cheap jest and cruel
rumor. The redeemng feature is that
the practice is SO prevalent that the
rumors are discounted. No one believes
more than a fourth he hears. But that
is sufficient to suggest the evil of the
practice. 1t is a characteristic of all
small communities the world over.
Good Hunting on the Hills.
The Kickapoo valley is arrayed in au-
tumn tints. The river is winding to
remarkable degree, its very name
meaning crooked" Frowning cliffs
greet the eye some times bare of all
vegetation. and from the main valley
run off in all directions occasional other
valleys, once great water courses, and
sometimes mountain piles above noun
tain as far as the eye can see, The riv-
er is not over three feet deep. The fall
is two feet to the mile. 1t makes its
peaceful way to the sea amid forest set
tings, the trees bending over its sides,
anu lllOuSdllUS VI HUNS anu III iA9 w
light the observer as they have riveted
the artist The farmers boys told me
the hills teemed with rabbits and squir-
rels, and l often heard the hunters gun
and the cry of the hounds. I scared up
many flights of quail by my approach
ing footsteps The valley is rich in the
things that interest the botanist. The
purple of the ash. the many tints of
the dark richness of the oaks-all
bathed in the violet hues of Indian sum-
mer-such scenes must be viewed in
person to appreciate the glories of this
most attractive scenery in Wisconsin.
Says Whittier:
1.-THE eye may we'll be glad that looks
Where Pharpar's fountains rise and
fall;
But he who sees his native brooks
Laugh in the sun, has seen them all.
The marble palaces of Ind
Rise round him in the snow and wind;
From his lone sweet-brier Persian
Hafiz smiles
And Rome's cathedral awe is in his
woodland aisles."
Leaving the Kickapoo valley at Reads
town, l took a northwesterly course to
Viroqua. Here, too, one follows great,
narrow valley, finally coming out onto
the fertile billowy prairie of Vernon
county.
The Pleasures of Tramping.
There are no words to describe the
pleasure of the tramp, who enjoys ma
ture and the sensation of recruiting his
strength. Bicycling is less beneficial in
solo GtoI 1rniG Hl1n
attention of the rider is converged on
his machine, but the tramp may lean
over a fence to enjoy the landscape
and chat with the farmers. He may
recline under tree, and listen to the
restful hum of insects or the shouts of
the threshermen mile away. or look
up into the tleecy clouds as they build
gorgeous creations of dream-stuffs. He
may sit by the side of a brook and
battle his hot feet taking from his
knapsack the change of shoes that ev-
cry tramp should carry. Arriving at
his destination he dashes cold water
freely over his body, and finds himself
eager for his supper. Is there man
who has no appetite? Who is prey
to dyspepsia? Who cannot sleep? Let
him do his twenty or twenty-five miles
over country roads, apart from the
haunts of men. Let him rub up close
to nature and feel how good is fresh
air and the genial glow of q warm
body, and busy lungs and purified blood
coursing in every artery and vein. Then,
as Christopher Worth in the Scottish
highlands shall he run and leap, shout
ing in pure exhuberance of physical de-
light
The Home of Jerry Rusk.
Viroqua is one of the loveliest little
cities in the state. 1t has but 1900
people, but the business blocks on the
main street are metropolitan. The
views in every direction are soul-satis-
flying. Senator Munson drove me to
the beautiful cemetery to see the me-
mortal erected to the late Governor
Rusk. 1t is plain and high and rich
shaft Of marble Nothing could be
firer mon Sibi but Patriae" reads a
marble tablet with martial symbols
Not for himself but for his country.
The record of his attachments are en-
graved in the marble. BY the side of
the old hero lies the beloved daughter
who died in the executive mansion in
Madison We also drove to the Rusk
farm, a mile away from the city. 1t
is commanding stretch OF rich-over
400 acres-soil, with fitting equipment.
BETTING the official head of the agri-
cultural interests of the republic. Here
he died.
The people OF Crawford and Vernon
counties are not yet through remin-
iscing of Jerry" Rusk. I walked over
the road over which he once drove a
stage. He was big, forceful person
alty from young manhood. When
ever he came into hotel office-when-
ever he opened the door, said one early
settler. you had a feeling that some-
thing was happening. He was the CEN
ter of every company in which he found
himself"
What Ben Harrison Said of Rusk.
What a career was Rusk's. He was
not so great as Abraham Lincoln Rusk
lacked the profound mystic, solemn at
tributes that made Lincoln a mighty
co-worker of the Almighty. But in
their origin, and promotions and con-
tact with men, there is an analogy.
Did you ever notice the caution with