The Baraboo news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1884-1911, 1908-11-19

gan TO get their goods in Chicago il
was questioned by some of the ladies
whether they were quite up-to-date.
We left Milwaukee about 8 O'Clock
: wednesday morning and reached Bar.
aooo just as the afternoon church was
out. Think of going to church at 10:3O,
Sabbath school at II, and church
again at 2:3O. AS Mr.. Christie was
acquainted with the road we had no
accidents and met with no advent
ures. Taverns were scattered along
the roads every few miles, where we
could be comfortably housed and fed,
while we neither saw an intoxicatedper-
son nor heard profane word ,and there
was no Quarreling. The landlords
where we stopped were all farmers
| and took in Travellers as one of them
put it, to get little ready change, help
the other fellow and have someone to
visit with. All were wide awake, full
OF expectation and glad to see you. It
! was, Where are you from? Where
are you going? and, What are you go
ing to do when you get there? There
is something vital and vibrant in
new country that goes to the soul and
nerves and makes one feel that life is
worth living. We found the mornings
and evenings a little chilly, but
through the day the sun shOne bright
and warm and after we left the Mil
waukee woods the roads were fairly
good most of the way. We came by
the way of Sauk and crossed the river
on ferry. When we reached the
Baraboo bluffs with only hickory poles
along the sides of the wagon box for
springs, we thought riding rather Wig
orous exercise, SO walked most of the
way. I'll not attempt to describe that
road as imagination might run away
with facts.
How Baraboo Looked
Baraboo then, with it's little knolls
end funnily twisted scrub oaks, was
much prettier than it is now. The
buildings along Fourth street between
Ash and East streets, are not to be
compared to the flowers that blossom
ed in Judge Camps garden. Pack of
that garden was a strawberry patch,
whose luscious fruit Mrs. Camp would
manipulate into short cake, layer up
on layer crowned with cream from
their own pasture; this was enough to
make old Epicurus himself smack his
lips. Mr.. and Mrs. Chas. Ryan can bear
testimony to this statement. Those
days you must raise your own berries,
or gather wild ones, unless you had a
generous neighbor. We had no milk
wagons for many years,so many of our
citizens kept their own COWS, conse.
quently knew nothing of tainted milk.
AS there were no restrictions on ami
mails of any kind, cattle and horses
were want to Craze along our streets,
nor was big, fat porker an unfamili
ar figure. Farmers used oxen almost
exclusively in the cultivation of the
new soil, consequently often came to
town with them and to see oxen hitch
ed along our streets was as common as
to see horses now; and many a jolly
ide have [ had after old Buck and
Bright and Duke and Darby.
Rafting
Rafting on our river was carried on
for few years, as the south side was
at first covered with a dense forest.
The north side was not so heavily tim
bered and was known as Oak Open
ings. Last winter in company with
the family of Mr.. Ell. G. Mertze, /
passed strip of timber that so years
ago was so dense you could only see
into it short distance, and most Of