Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1898-10-19
THE KlCKAPO9 VALLEY


E,fnett's Notes on Wisconsin's
Finest Scenery.
A LITTLERIYER'S WINDING COURSE
II Is Grit with high Hilis-Tarmers who
Prosper-The Mills on the Fioss--Hunt-
ing on the Hilic Delights of Tramping
Vernon County. where the Late Jerry
Rusk Laid the Foundation of His Great.
ness.
Madison. Wis, Oct 1l.-Rey, William
Haughton now living IN Retreat. AVIS
tor Some wears Travelled up ard down
the kickapoo valley in Crawford ana
Vernon counties breaking the bread CT
ME one pleasant day. as was his Gus
tom. he sat down on the river bank.
under the trees. to rest. and some poet.
~ took form in his mind:
%, favored land! No foot has trod
Through fairer paths than thine.
Whefe hills uplift their heads TO God
And speak His power divine,
Where valleys breathe of peace and
rest,
Fresh as the morning dew,
Ana Vernon on her own warm breast
lmpearls the kickapoo."
| have just been walking up through
this valley. l began at Wauzeka, lust
east Of Prairie du Chen. Here the
kickapoo eirpties into the Wisconsin
The valley runs northeasteriy for eighty
miles. The river rs sometimes 100 feet
wide, but not often. The hills rise on
both sides all the way Indeed. they
are often worthy to be called noun.
tains.
Above me bend the clustering bnughs
The lifts around me stand
Ana heaVenward rear their giant brows
In beauty calm and grand.
| linger lovingly and long
Beside the waters blue
Ard yearn to give thy name to song,
0, peaceful Kickapoo
The waters are peaceful. but NOT blue
The fact is, the west has no blue rivers
Many of the people have never seen
any blue water except in barber shops
In New England the rivers run strong
and deep, and as a result the water is
creepy and shallow to take on any color
but that of the bottom The Kickapoo
is muddy Twenty years ago it had
twice the volume of water it has now
So, too, the Wisconsin a superb river
course, Is sridironed with mud flats In
both directions. 1t is difficult to re.
even the smallest craft down to the
MISSISSIPPI And in some places one
can wade across even the Father of
waters! To such humiliation have the
remorseless lumbermen brought us
The Eating None Too Good
walked up through the valley khan
sack on my back. 1t is glorious lorm
Oh exercise, and the best way to see
Inc country There is a little railroad
that follows the river up for fffty-onc
miles, with one train a day each way.
1T is lined with little communities. six
or eight miles apart-groups of from $50
to 500 people each. Soldiers Grove has
oeO inhabitants. 1t is the principal
point of the valley. Here lives Atley
peterson, four times an assemblyman
ana railroad commissioner under Risk
( ana Hoard. If there be smaller town
that has an electric light plant, do not
know where it is. j. o. Davidson, Re-
lubtlcan candidate for secretary of
state, also lives here. Both of them
went to the valley in the early DAYS
and have prospered. There is an ex-
cellent hotel here. But as a rule the
kickapoogians fry their steak and boil
| their coffee. 1T will never become the
summer resort the valley deserves to
be until there is good eating along the
| way Especially does the tramping
tourist require good living. Bayard
| Taylor walked through Germany and
| was content with his crackers and
| cheese. But the average tramper who
| has covered twenty-five miles in the
| day wants comfortable bath, a good
| supper and an attractive bed
| Bad Men Were Expelled
| For many years the valley bore n
| hard name-unjustly the inhabitants
| say 1t was said to be the lair from
which horsethieves made depredations
on Illinois, and where timber thieves
! and desperadoes hid themselves IT
| must have been a wild country in the
| early days. for the thousand mountains
| are yet bleak, inaccessible places But
| the people drove the bad men out. and
| Gertrude Frazier. one of the Viola edi-
| tors. and Rose b. Poff wrote q descrip-
| tive pamphlet in 1896 designed to dis
| sipate the false reports concerning the
| valley. found the people intelligent
| progressive and prosperous Raising
| cattle and sheep is a large part of their
| business, and herds and focks dot the
| meadows in the basin and the clearings
| on the mountain sides. Some grain is
! raised; there are creameres and cheese
| factories in the different towns, and the
water power is utilized for many mills
! lumber and grist and factories for the
making of excelsior and other arti-
| Giles. The farm land on the ridges is es-
| pecially fine There are a few families
| that look as if they did not know that
| AppomatoX had happened. The win
| dCws are stuffed with rags, and the
buildings are storm-rent and the inhab-
itants disappear as the tourist comes in
| sight. But one finds these retrogrades
| everywhere. They are the exception IN
the kickapoo valley. Even these peo-
| Pile had fat cattle and horses
The Evil of Scandal.
| The valley anOunds in schoolhouses
and churches. The people are largely
| of Norwegian descent. The Masonic
and odd Fellows orders. the Woodmen
and the G. A. r. are represented The
wcmen have their temperance societies
and literary ambitions / dropped into
a little Methodist church on Sunday
| evening, The pastor. an educated
young fellow, was just taking hold of
his work. There was d goodly attend
| ance Of young and old. The new pastor
and his wife sang duet. he playing the
| organ accompaniment. about Mothers
| Bible" and Mother Way" that
| brought tears to the eye, and then he
| addressed the people. He dwelt on the
Importance Of their working harmoni-
| ousiy and he devoted a large part of his
| talk to the sinfulness of scandal-mon-
| gering,
There are people who conceive that
| this, along with ccvetousress. Of which
so much is said in the Good Book are
| obsolete But i; is in the small com
munity that scandal is at its worst
| Everybody knows everybody, and shut
out to an extent from the larger af
ans of life, they fall 70 AID devour
each other. The stranger WHO drops
| into 3 country barber shop is appalled,
at what he hears. Young blades, scarce
Is years of age, eager to be tough, spec
ulate on female Character or condemn it
with a freedom that is fearful TO wit
| ress rapoec of Y11pp and VSscf11Cn Hf