Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1909-12-01
The North countree.

terest of patriotic instruction gave
ne an opportunity of seeing again
part of Wisconsin quite familiar to
me from twelve to twenty years ago.
1t was one thing to know and to say
that from then until now there have
beer great changes in that country,
but quite another thing to see the
country then covered with dense for
ests of pine, but now looking like vast
stump-eovered prairies; to see farms
with good houses, large barns and
herds of cattle where there were lum.
Der camps and vast piles of logs, with
now and then a deer feeding under the
tall pines; to see here and there few
rotting logs, heaps of deeayed saw
dust and some tumble-down buildings
where once there were busy saw mills,
piles of new lumber and small armies
of men Known as lumberjacks.
Some of these mills are left: there
are a few lingering lumberjacks
handling saw-logs; and, with such pro-
lection as the state is giving, deer are,
| suppose, as plentiful as they were 20
years ago; yet the face of the country
is greatly changed.
This part of the state is passing
through transition period, and one
cannot help wondering what is to
come. To illustrate, I will speak of
one community which is a type of
many. The village of Mason is what
has been known as lumber town. 1t
was built up little more than a quar-.
ter OF a century ago around a mill
owned by the White River Lumber
company. The company owned every
livingstone, land and houses. The
houses were rented to the workmen
AS a rule these houses We're all alike
There is no Langdon street. There
was almost no distinction between
people, except that the families of the
pus eoWo eql VI s4IeIo eua 'sIeesIsAo
the store and the school teachers
were slightly suggestive of q 400"
The mill vas large, and there was
population of, perhaps, 500 in the vii
lage. 1t was busy place. The saws
hummed from ten to twelve hours
every day and some of the time. I
guess, all night. Men seemed every
where in hurry to slash down the
nearby noble forests of pine and hem
lock, get the logs to the mill made in
to lumber, lath and shingles, and
away to market.
In the early COS the people had a
school house two stories high with
school in the two lower rooms. The
upper story was for meetings, Sunday
school and other neighborhood gath
erings.
The mill is there yeti was once
burned but rebuilt-one of the largest
and finest in the great northwest.
There is a new schoolhouse up-to.
date, and with five of the very best
teachers. l understand that they re-
ceiye pretty good salaries. / visited
every room and found those teachers
giving the boys and girls from the
little nearby homes as good culture as
they could get ia the most excellent
schools OF Madison. never saw
brighter youngsters or better disci.
pine / was told that there is a live
~ graded Sunday school Of more than
hundred pupils. to which all denomi.
nations come, some Catholics even.
But the logs coming to the mill are
NOT nearly so good as those of wears
40, In fact, some of them look to me
IKE pretty poor stuff. Yet even that
Is worth saving now, and then the
forests where these logs are cut are
away out of sight. could. standing nv
the upper windows of the school
mouse, scarcely see the tops of anv
respectable family of pine trees. 7
was told that the mill will saw I'M
everything within four years.-and
then what?
SINCE the mill is the only place of
employment, and The mill cannot rim
without logs to saw, and In four veare
tnere Nlll be no more logs, it looks to
me as if five years from now Mason
Will cease to be on the man as
there can be then only little school
OF one room. other little Iumbe,
towns nave thus gone out of exist.
ehce. and there are more to follow
Every family that remains after the
mil is gone and others who come in
must begin to cultivate some patch of
ground; and thus farming will SLOW :,
come TO take the place of lumber,
The company owning the mill at Ma.
SOL mas possession of nearly all he
land within radius of several no.Ias
and will not sell it to settlers. So
there are very few cultivated farms
IN It's Immediate vicinity. and so It is
WIN brummond few miles ,onta
me Rust-Owen company at Drum !
ihond owns all that was timber land
ia four townships. / was told at Drum. |
mond that az the present rate of saw.
ing there win be work at thar mill
Tor twelve or fifteen years vet. But
one oy one the mills everywb, re viii |
De dismantled as the years go nv and
then the change must come. Every.
thing win then depend upon the farms
and 1t IS slow work at best to dig on,
a tarn among great pine stumps. For
all that. however. in due course Of
time this part of Wisconsin win no 4
forced to submit TO agriculture and
general settlement.
was told that the country about
Drummond Is not very wall adaDtas 20