Reminiscences of Early La Crosse, Wisconsin : An Account of the Men and Women Who Lived in La Crosse and Vicinity ... / by L.H. Pammel. Liesenfeld Press, 1928.

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Reminiscences
of
Early
La Crosse, Wisconsin

In Account of the men and women who lived in
LaCrosse and vicinity and who shared in its
progress and in the building-up of its commercial,
professional, and educational
interests, with notes on
conservation of plant
and animal life
BY
L. H. PAMMEL, B. Agr, M. S., Ph. D., D. Sc.
Professor of Botany, Iowa State College of
Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

Former President of Iowa State Board of Conservation.

Former President General of Phi Kappa Phi.

Vice President, Section G, American Association for
the Advancement of Science.

President, Iowa Academy of Science, Cosmopolitan Clubs;
Iowa Forestry Association.

Author of Manual of Poisonous Plants, Weds of the Farm and
Garden, Weed Flora, Flower Ecology, Prominent
Men I have met and many other papers.

REPRINTED FROM The
LA CROSSE TRIBUNE AND LEADER PRESS,
LA CROSSE, WISCONSIN.

LIESENFELD PR8IE
1928.

PREFACE

I brought together in these reminiscences times and events in the
seventies and the eighties. I had contact with many of the persons mentioned,
with some only a passing acquaintance. I have added to this material
chapters on conservation and something about the animal and plant life.
I have gone more into detail concerning the scientific work done by men who
lived in La Crosse and this vicinity. I thought best to embrace southeastern
Minnesota as far north as Winona and adjacent regions, Houston, and LaCrescent,
Minnesota; Westby, Sparta, West Salem, and Viroqua, Wisconsin.

I have gone to considerable pains to look up the biographical data, in
many instances, going to original sources for information. Also, I consulted
freely the Wisconsin State Historical Library, the Milwaukee Public Library,
the Public Library of La Crosse, and the State Historical Library in Des
Moines, Iowa, and the Iowa State College Library. I have been in correspondence
with a large number of persons concerning the lives of these men
and some of the martial about them has never been printed before.

It is interesting to, note the number of men who have been reared in
La Crosse who are occupying an enviable place in literature, science, and in
statesmanship.

In the preparation of this material, I have received many favors from
Professor Albert H. Sanford, La Crosse State Normal School, who has freely
put at my disposal much of his valuable material on the historical events of
La Crosse and vicinity; to Miss Lilly M. Borresen, of the La Crosse Public
Library who has shown me many courtesies; to Mr. Wells Bennett who has
helped me in many ways; and from Baldwin & Bosshard who also assisted me
in getting material. I want to thank especially Mr. Mark Byers ant the
La Crosse Tribune and Leader Press for kindness shown me in the printing
of the articles that have been published in the La Crosse Tribune and Leader
Press. Mr. Karl Kurtenacker assisted me to get material on the Gtsrman
Press. Also, I thank the many readers who have spoken to me about their
interest in these articles.

Ames, Iowa, L. H. PAMMEL.
July 1, 1928.

SOME LA CROSSE HISTORY

By L. H. PAMMEL

I.
Exploration
IN this series of sketches of early La
Crosse, I will begin with the period
of exploration. Two very early explorers
visited the region about La
Crosse, namely La Sueur, who touched
the region to the north of La
Crosse in 1683, and Nicolas Perrot
in 1685. Perrot wintered on the east
bank of the Mississippi river near
Trempealeau. Father James Marquette,
the French missionary among
the Hurons, was in the region to the
south of La Crosse near the present
siet of Prairie du Chien, on June 17,
1673. He was accompanied on this
trip by Louis Joliet. It was in June
that he beheld the, green verdure of
the trees and the beautiful early
summer and late spring flowers. The
exploits of Father Louis Hennepin
and Du Lhut in 1680 are also a part
of this history.

Ceded Territory in 1763

It should be remembered in this
connection that the French ceded
this territory to Great Britain in
1763. Great Britain ceded its rights
to the United States in 1783 and
English domination was continued
until 1796. The United States, however,
did not have full possession or
control until 1796. Carver visited
the, region of Prairie du Chien in
1766. (Carver's Travels, Philadelphia,
1796, p. 31.) Jehn Nicolet,
when the French authorities sent him
as an ambassador to the Winnebago
Indians, set foot on what now is Wisconsin
in 1634. He had spent several
years among the Indians. He had
lived in Canada since 1618. He ascended
the Fox river and portaged
to the Wisconsin river where
the present town of Portage is
located. We may now also recall
that the Roman Catholic missionary,
Father Claude Allouez, arrived at
Ashlmad Bay October, 1665, and
erected a chapel. The migratory
mission, St. Francis Xavier, was
founded in December, 1669, the
permanent one at De Pere, Brown
county, in 1671.

Pike's Exploration

The region was visited by Zebulon
Montgomery Pike on September 12,
1805. Pike played such an important
part in the history of the upper
Mississippi valley that I am going to
take the liberty of giving a sketch of
his life because he made a name for
himself by his explorations in this
valley and in the Rocky Mountains.
Pike published his Journal under the
title "The Expeditions of Zebulon
Montgomery Pike to the headwaters
of the Mississippi River through the
western parts of Louisiana territory
and a tour through the interior part
of New Spain during the years 1805-
6-7." (It was published in 1810).
This work was republished as a new
edition by Elliott Coues, the ornithologist
in 1905. The edition containing
the memoirs of Pike by Coues is
an invaluable historical document.
Coues followed the trail of Pike and
in the numerous footnotes gives details
of the journey, describing the
sloughs, rivers and bluffs.

Zebulon Montgomery Pike was
born at Lamberton, now Trenton,
New Jersey, January 5, 1779, and for
a while lived in Burks county, Pennsylvania.
He was a man of fair complexion.
He was a man of resolute
purposes and a genial companion.
Pike evidently had little education
and that was in the common school,
because he enlisted in the federal
army from New Jersey in 1794 as a
cadet in his father's company. As a
mere boy, 15 years old, he became an
ensign or second lieutenant in the
Second Infantry March 3, 1799; first
lieutenant of the same regiment on
April 24, 1800; First Infantry, in
1802; became first lieutenant First
Regiment, United States Infantry,
April 1, 1802. Pike came of a good
family which had resided in New Jersey
for several generations. His father,
Zebulon Pike, acquired the title
"Captain" because of his service in
the Revolutionary and Indian wars.

Heads Expedition

He came to head the Mississippi
Valley Expedition by order of General
James Wilkinson, who had his

4 EARLY LA CROSSE

headquarters at St. Louis, Missouri.
He was ordered to explore the Mississippi
from St. Louis to its source,
select sites for military posts, treat
with the Indians, make peace between
the Sioux, Ojibways and find
out about the British traders who
still occupied parts of the United
States territory. Pike, with 20 men,
started from St. Louis on the 9th of
August, 1805, and in his exploration
reached St. Anthony Falls; here at
the mouth of St. Croix he bought nine
miles square of land upon which to
build a fort. He also reached Sandy
Lake, Grand Rapids, Pokegama Falls,
mouth of Leech Lake river to Leech
Lake, Cass Lake (known as Upper
Red Cedar), mouth of Turtle river.
He considered Leech Lake drainage
area as the source of the Mississippi
river. He did not know that the
stream flowing into Cass Lake came
from Lake Itasca. In this expedition
Pike mentioned the upper Iowa
(Oneota) river in Allamakee county.
This was probably the same stream
given on the map of Franquelin in
1688. On September 10, 1806, he
camped on the Wisconsin side of the
Mississippi river, where he met the
Indians and had a parley with them.
In his Journal of September 11th he
mentions the numerous islands of the
Mississippi river. He camped on
what is now known as Brownsville,
Houston county, Minnesota, below the
Root river. He observed, he says,
"Hills or rather prairie knobs on
both sides," and passed Racine river
(Root river). (Later explorers, like
Nicollet and Owen, called this river
Hokah or Root river. The Franquelin
map of 1688 called it R. des Arounoues).
He passed a prairie called La
Cross (La Crosse), and mentions
Wild Cat creek (Coon) slough, a
mile below Geneva. The Vernon and
La Crosse county line is between
Stoddard and the mouth of Mormon
creek.

The Mississippi river divides on the
Wisconsin side into Coon or Raccoon
slough. This was two miles below
what is known as Warner's Landing
-according to Dr. Coues. Pike and
his party also call attention to the
Black river and the large delta at the
mouth. For this Father Hennepin
used the Sioux name Chabedeba or
Chabaondeba, La Salle using the
word R. Noire and Chabadeba (Beaver)
river, Noire in Franquelin's
map. J. N. Nicollet, who made :sone
explorations in this country and
whose work was published in 1840,
called it Sapah or Black river, the
Sapah Watpa of the Sioux. (See F.
Cassee-Fusils in Beltrami 2:178).
Pike did not reach the mouths of the
river until the 13th of September,
and Coues suggests that the mouth of
the river must have changed. On the
13th they went to the foot of the hill
situated on the river. This hill rises
abruptly from the water's edge. The
French called it la montague qui
trempe a' l'eau which was later
changed to Mt. Trempealeau---Mt.
Trombolo. Coues has some interesting
comments on these names, Dresbach
is Teutonic, Dakota is Siouxian,
Onalaska is suggestive of Captain
Cook's voyage, Richmond and Queen's
Bluff, English. Pike's party on the
return voyage in 1806 again stopped
at Prairie La Crosse on April 10th.
killed a goose, shot a pigeon, trees
were blooming.

First Voyage in 1805

It will not be necessary Io mention
in detail the return trip of Pike
down the Mississippi river. The first
voyage, in 1805-1806, was up the
Mississippi river starting from St.
Louis. The second trip was made
westward from St. Louis in 'he then
new territory of Louisiana to the
source of the Arkansas river. On
this trip he left St. Louis for the
Rocky Mountains July, 1806, went to
the Pawnee village on the Republican
river, Nebraska, then south to Arkansas,
touched the Great Bend, he
ascended the river in Colorado as tar
as Pueblo, then went north to Pike's
Peak, climbed Cheyenne Mountain
and said the great mountain (Pike's
Peak) was too terrible to climb. In
making this trip he got into Spanish
territory where he was captured. He
saw the Sangre de Cristo range in
San Luis valley. found himself on the
Rio Grande del Norte river where he
was captured by Spanish authorities
and ordered sent to Santa Fe and
Chihuahua to General Salcedo by
way of El Paso, Durango, Coahulla;
San Antonio, Mexico, Natchitochei
and Louisiana. He was released July
1, 1807.

His army service may be briefly
given. Captain United States army
August 12, 1806. Major 6th Infantry
May 3, 1808, Lieutenant Colonel 4th

EARLY LA CROSSE 5

Infantry, 12, 13, 1809. Deputy
Quartermaster General's office April
3, 1812. Colonel 18th Infantry July
6, 1812. Brigadier General March
12, 1813. Before this order was
confirmed he was killed in action. At
the time of his death he was 34 years
three months and 22 days old. The
following description appears on a
tablet in St. Michael's Episcopal
church, Trenton, New Jersey, "Sacred
to the memory of General Z. M. Pike
of the United States army, who fell
in defense of his country on the 27th
day of April, A. D. 1813, at York,
Upper Canada." Pike dedicated his
volume on the account of his expedition,
etc., to Fellow Soldiers and
Citizens.

Pike at Prairie La Crosse

Pike was at the site of La Crosse
on September 12, 1805, and called it
Prairie La Crosse. He states it
was a very handsome prairie with
hills back of it similar to those
found at Prairie du Chien. Mr.
Frazer, a member of the party,
"found some holes dug by the
Sioux in expectation of an attack into
which they first put their women and
children and then crawled in themselves."
These holes are round about
ten feet in diameter. The prairie was
given the above name because the Indians
used to play here a kind of
ball which the French called la
crosse. Captain Carver, who visited
Wisconsin in 1766 (North America
364) describes the games. Long's
work, edited by Keating, uses the
work "Prairie La Crosse." There has
been much discussion as to the origin
of the word La Crosse. Henry B.
Coons of Potosi, Wisconsin, insisted
that the French Catholic missionaries
erected a cross and called it Prairie
La Crosse (See History of La Crosse
County, 328). This is, however, discounted
by many Leut. Martin
Scott, who was in command of a
party to explore St. Peter's river,
halted at La Crosse and spoke of the
prairie as well suited for the game
La Crosse. No doubt this word is
French. There were Indian names
like Enook-Wagera, meaning woman's
breast, Topaktaype-from topa,
four, and Iktayke, killed, Wazuvleca,
a Sioux name meaning strawberry.
Pike was one of the heroes of the
war of 1812 and especially the hero
of our early explorations. He is
commemorated in the names of many
places, as Pike's Peak, Pike's Bay
(Cass Lake). Port Pike in Petites
Coquillas Island, Louisiana, in Orleans
Parish near New Orleans. Counties
named after him are many in
Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois,
Indiana, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania.
Many villages and small cities
in California, New York, North Carolina,
Illinois. A man of war was
named after him in 1813, also a regiment.

II.

LONG'S EXPEDITION

ANOTHER interesting expedition
was that made by Stephen H.
Long. The account of this expedition
was edited by William H. Keating under
the title of "Narrative of an expedition
to the source of St. Peter's
river, Lake Winnepeck, Lake of the
Woods, etc., performed in the year
1823, by order of Hon. J. C. Calhoun,
secretary of war, under the command
of Stephen H. Long, U. S. T E., compiled
from the notes of Major Long,
Messrs. Say, Keating and Calhoun."
William H. Keating was professor of
mineralogy and chemistry as applied
to the arts in the University of Pennsylvania.
He was geologist and histographer
to the expedition. This is
a two volume work printed in London
by George B. Whittaker, Ave. Marie
Lane, in 1825 (Vol. 1:1-456, Vol. 2,
96-134, 8 plates). The author of
this work refers to the history of the
discovery of the Wisconsin and Mississippi
River at McGregor. He refers
to what he calls Pike's Mountain,
now known as Pike's Peak on the
west bank of the Mississippi river, opposite
Prairie du Chien which they
state is 550 feet high. This was the
site recommended for a fort by Pike.
From the top of this bluff they got a
magnificent view of the Wisconsin
and Mississippi rivers. Prairie du
Chien then was a great center for Indians
to gather. In Keating's account
there is frequent reference to Major
Long's M. S. No. 2, folio 5. I take it
that all of Major Long's material was
not published.

Major Long had orders from the
war department to start the expedition
from Philadelphia, the order being
dated April 25, 1823. The expedition
started a few days later on
April 30. The route as planned was
via Wheeling, Va., (now West Virginia),

6 EARLY LA CROSSE

thence to Chicago, via Fort
Wayne, to Fort Armstrong on to Dubuque's
lead mines, thence up the
Mississippi river to St. Anthony Falls,
thence to the source of St. Peter's
river, thence to the point of intersection
between Red river and the forty-ninth
degree of north latitude, thence
along the northern boundary of the
United States to Lake Superior and
homeward by the lakes. The party
reached the mouth of the Wisconsin
river on June 19, 1823, where the
party remained for five days. Mention
is made of the wide prairie and
the writer notes that the distance
traveled between Chicago and Prairie
du Chien is 228 miles. The party
traveled fairly rapidly. They reached
Hoka (Dacota language) river (Root
river) on the 27th of June. This is
supposed to be the Riviere Longue or
Riviere Monte Lahoutan which Coxe
called Meschauay (in a work published
in London, 1771).

At Prairie La Crosse

The Long party was at Prairie La
Crosse on the 27th of June. Keating,
in his narrative, calls particular attention
to Prairie de La Crosse which
"has been incorrectly called Cross
(Croix) prairie. "He states the ground
is very level and excellent for playing
this game now called la crosse.
The region was formerly much visited
by the Indians to play this game.
The remains of encampments of Indians
were noted. "There were several
graves and flags flying over
them," an indication that the graves
were those of some men of importance.

Early next morning the party was
at the mouth of Black river. This
stream was at this early day used to
raft timber down the Mississippi to
Prairie du Chien and St. Louis. He
mentions pines and fine timber growing
on the banks of the river, and is
an important supply for the cities
mentioned above. They also note
that the islands were numerous and
that bluffs occurred at the mouth of
the Black river. These bluffs on both
sides of the Mississippi river approach
each other within 800 yards. On the
28th the party reached a "great natural
curiosity." Montagne qui
trempe dans l'eau." The French
translation meaning "the mountain
that soaks in the water." It is a rocky
island. So far as the party could see
there was no water between the
mountain and the left bank of the
river.

Trempealeau Mountain

Major Long estimated the height of
Trempealeau Mountain to be 500 feet.
The Burlington railroad now uses
the depression for its right of way.
No doubt in the distant past a channel
of the Mississippi river did go
through this valley forming an island.
Schoolcraft in his narrative of Travels,
etc., states that this is the third
island of the Mississippi from the
Gulf of Mexico to this point. I suppose
really what he meant by this
was that with a considerable elevation
of land. As stated, however, it
is not a recent island in any sense of
the word.

It is interesting to trace the origin
of names. Keating in Long's report,
publishes a map. On the Iowa-Minnesota
side of the river, the west
bank, these names occur: Wapsipinicon
(empties into Mississippi river below
Clinton, source in N. E. Iowa,
Howard county). Tete de Mort, Turkey,
Yellow, Upper Ioway, Root river
(the party was at this point on June
27). Wisconsin side, BadAxe creek, La
Croix river, Black river, Bluff Island
river (Trempealeau). The party traveled
overland on the Iowa-Minnesota
side of the Mississippi river. How
names of streams and places have
changed is shown by the name La
Crosse, as I have indicated. The case
of Pecatonica is of interest. Keating
gives this Pektannons, which means
"muddy" in the Siouxan language
and is a diminutive of Pektannon.

Expedition of J. N. Nicollet

After an interval of some twenty
years another expedition was ordered
by the United States government, J.
N. Nicollet, a Frenchman, was ordered
to make a survey of the hydrographic
basin of the upper Mississippi
river. This report was intended to
illustrate a map of the hydrographic
basin of the upper Mississippi river
(26th congress senate (237) 1:170.
Large folio map. List of fossils. Appendix
B 143-165). This report describes
the territory in a general way
to St. Anthony Falls but there is no
special reference to La Crosse. There
is a short account of Ft. Crawford,
Bloody River creek on Iowa aide of
the Mississippi on which the town
of Marquette is located, Painted Rock

EARLY LA CROSSE 7

above Bad Axe river on the Wisconsin
side of river. The only well
known Painted Rock is at McGregor
which makes me think that Nicollet
was not very familiar with the region.
He refers to Bad Axe river on the
Wisconsin side of the river, Raccoon
river on the same side, Hokah river,
now Root river, which is further
north on the Mississippi river, Prairie
La Crosse river and Tiger, east bank
of river. The Mankato river which is
in Minnesota and empties into the St.
Peter or Minnesota river at the bend,
indicates the location Lake Okamanpedan,
and Lake Okoboji, northwest
Iowa. The map refers to Devil's Lake,
mentions St. Peter's river frequently.
No doubt Nicollet did not come in
contact with the La Crosse region. He
describes Coteau des Prairie of the
Dakotas and the intervening country
west of the Mississippi river. A publication
of a list of plants by John
Torrey is given. The plants were
collected by Geyer. Many of these
were prairie plants and western but
a few like bristly sarsaparilla, undoubtedly
belong to the forest flora
of Wisconsin.

Last Exploration

The last of the early explorations
was the David Dale Owen survey
made in 1848. The results of this
survey were published under the title
"Report of a Geological Survey of
Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota," and
incidentally of a portion of Nebraska
territory. It was made under instructions
from the United States treasury
department. David Dale Owen, Unit-
ed States geologist (Philadelphia
Lippincott, Grambo & Co., 1852,
Quarto pages 1-638, numerous illus-
trations and plates). David Dale
Owen was a geologist. C. C Parry,
whom I knew personally, was the botanist.
I said above this was the last
of the early surveys. None others
have been made except the Coues
expedition retracing the trail of Pike.
This, so far as I know, was at his own
expense and was not under government
auspices. I find only a few references
to Prairie La Crosse except
some localities where reference is
made to some geologic formations.
The party ascended Prairie La Crosse
river 50 miles above the mouth and
this mast therefore have brought the
exploring party to the east of Sparta.
This trip was made by a Dr. Litton. A
list of streams and places are given
for this region. On right hand side
of river West branch of Kickapoo river,
Bad Axe river, Raccoon creek,
Mormon creek, La Crosse river, Black
river, Montgiu-trempe-a-leau river,
Pecatonica river. On left hand side
of Mississippi river, Tete des Morts,
Catfish creek, Maquoketa creek
Wapsipinicon, Turkey river, Yellow
river, Upper Iowa, Hokah
or Root river. The following
places, Prairie a La Crosse, Dubuque,
Gutenberg, Clayton City,
Bellevue, McGregor landing between
Turkey and Yellow river, Mountain
Island on left side above mouth of
Trempealeau river. It seems strange
that the Owen party did not verify
the location of this island.

III.

PLANT COLLECTIONS
Carver, Pike, Nicollet and Owen

THE earliest reference to plants in
this region was that made by Carver
who explored the upper part, of
the Minnesota river in 1767. "Wild
rice grows here in great abundance,
and every part is filled with trees
bending under their loads of fruit,
such as plums, grapes and apples;
the meadows are covered with hops
and many sorts of vegetables; whilst
the ground is stored with useful roots
with angelica, spikenard, and ground
nuts." He speaks of the maple trees
(Upham Fl. of Minn.) Prof. D. B.
Douglas of West Point, in the expedition
of Governor Cass in 1820 in
the Great Lakes and the upper Mississippi,
collected plants which were
listed by Dr. John Torrey. The
Schoolcraft Expedition through the
upper Mississippi to Itasca Lake in
1832 published a list of plants collected
by Dr. Douglass Houghton.
Dr. I. A. Lapham in 1865 published a
valuable catalogue of plants of Minnesota
which embraced a part of this
region in Minnesota.

Scientific Notes of Explorers
Pike paid little attention to the
geological formation and but little to
the plant and animal life. Occasionally
there is a note about plants and
animals. Long's expedition did give
some attention to the scientific features
of the region. Keating was a
geologist and Thomas Say was a zoologist.
Say later in life described
many insects. He is frequently quoted
by entomologists. Say made a

8 EARLY LA CROSSE

collection of plants of the expedition
which later was placed in the hands
of Louis David von Schweinitz. They
were listed in the appendix (p. 105)
in the work of Long. The geology
of this whole region was described
also. It was the beginning of better
scientific work. The Long party, in
their overland journey, north from
Prairie du Chien, took pains to note
the type of trees and other plants observed.
They noted basswood, ash,
elm, white walnut, sugar tree (hard
maple), birch, aspen, hazel, hickory,
wild roses, wild strawberries with
very fragrant fruit and wild rice
they found in bottoms. They mention
seeing elk on the upper Iowa,
and they observed two acres of maize
cultivated presumably by the Indians.
They noted many birds on the trip
such as the prairie chicken, chipping
sparrow, red headed woodpecker,
ferruginous thrush, and crow. At
other points they noted Cassida
(Cassia chamaecrista) our well
known partridge pea of sandy soil,
common to the prairies. They mention
sinks which they encountered in
their overland journey.

Nicollet and his party, who in the
early forties made an exploration of
the upper Mississippi basin, also
called attention to the plant and animal
life and gave more attention to
the geology than any of the previous
explorers. They published a list of
fossils and a list of plants (26th Congress
Senate (237) 1843). The plants
were collected by Charles Geyer under
the direction of J. N. Nicollet.
During the exploration of the region
between the Mississippi and Missouri,
so far as I know, none of these plants
are listed from La Crosse. The published
list of plants was prepared by
Dr. John Torrey, the eminent New
York botanist (Appendix B-143-165).
Definite localities are given, e. g.
Council Bluffs, Iowa, Devil's Lake,
South Dakota, St. Peter's river. Nicollet
mentions such trees as American
elm. soft maple, black walnut, nettle
tree (hackberry), red and white ash,
basswood, red and bur oak, prickly
ash, red birch, hawthorne, and such
other plants as bristly sarsaparilla,
wild fox-grape, yellow ladies' slipper,
tuberous sunflower. It is evident
from this list of plants that the party
must have seen these plants on the
Mississippi river. The bristly sarsaparilla
is not found much west of the
Mississippi river and in southern Minnesota
and Wisconsin. The white
ash is rare in Wisconsin. They probably
observed this in northeastern
Iowa and near La Crosse. On this
trip he met Dr. George Engelmann,
the eminent botanist and physician
of St. Louis, who at this early day
kept a meteorological record which
Nicollet had occasion to use. In one
of the appendices Nicollet gives a
table of geographical positions for
points along the Mississippi river.

The Owen and Parry Surveys
The David Dale Owen geological
survey, published in 1852, gives a
much more thorough discussion of
the geology of the region in the survey
of Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota
than any other previous report.
In literature, therefore, it is more
frequently referred to. There is frequent
reference to lower magnesium
limestone which caps the bluffs and
outcrop of St. Croix sandstone, at La
Crosse. They mention cranberry in
marshes, huckleberries on arid ridges,
On the Bad Axe river the thickness
of the lower magnesium limestone is
175 feet, the sandstone 488 feet.
Owen was evidently a thorough student.
He called attention to the importance
of studying the geology and
the relation of plants to geologic formations.
Dr. C. C. Parry, he botanist,
gave an account of plants from
Davenport, Iowa, to the St. Croix
river. The systematic list of plants
collected in 1848 is published on
page 606 of the survey report. Dr.
Parry reported white pine from Muscatine
county and the fragrant fern
from the falls of St. Croix river. La
Crosse localities do not appear in this
catalogue. Undoubtedly some plants
were collected here.

There was a long period of inactivity
from a scientific standpoint. In
the year 1873 the legislature of Wisconsin
ordered a geological survey of
Wisconsin. Subsequently, Dr. J. A.
Renggly, a physician of La Crosse,
Wisconsin (History of La Crosse
County, 309) tells, in a well written
account, how the sandstone of
the Slurian system was laid down.
"There were no grass plains, no
brush, no forests yet to stop the colossal
rain streams rushing down hills
and dales in their course. The rough,
bare stone plateaus were at the mercy
of the rapid streams." He gives an

EARLY LA CROSSE 9

excellent account of the topography
of the region. Dr. T. C. Chamberlain,
the state geologist, refers in a general
way to the geology of western
Wisconsin, including the La Crosse
area (History of La Crosse County,
Wisconsin, 115-116). The Potsdam
sandstone of the Wisconsin age and
the lower magnesium limestone.

Strong's Geology
Prof. Moses Strong (Geology of
Wisconsin 4; 28, 29, 30), discusses
the topography and physical geography
of the region north of the Wisconsin
river. There are accounts of
the several townships, Shelby, in
which La Crosse is located. He notes
the precipitous cliffs and that the
lower magnesium limestone covers
one-sixth of the township and notes
that it is a good limestone. The
Potsdam sandstone covers the remainder
of the area. The thickness
of this sandstone at La Crosse is 937
feet which includes the area above
the surface and 400 feet to granite
rock below. He refers to the clay
ridges, chiefly covered with white
oak. There are some references to
the geology of the adjacent Wisconsin
territory with its sandstone. T.
C. Chamberlain (Geology Wis.
1:269) refers to the driftless area of
La Crosse.

IV
PAPERS BY HOY, KING, RENOGLEY
AND OTHERS

Other scientific facts brought out
by the survey was a study of the
natural history. Incidentally La
Crosse is mentioned in the article by
Dr. F. R. Hoy (Geology Wisconsin
1:422). The glass snake (Opheosaurus
ventralis L.) is mentioned. The
frequent occurrence of the rattle
snake on the Mississippi bluffs is
mentioned. Moses Strong (Geology
Wis. 1:436) publishes a list of mammals,
such as the raccoon, prairie and
gray wolf. Localities are not given
but by inference La Crosse is included.
These animals were found in La
Crosse. There is a most excellent
treatise, the best of the biological papers,
by Dr. F. LI. King on the Economic
Relations of Wisconsin birds
(Geology of Wis. 1:441). Dr. King's
work was done in .Waupaca and several
other counties. He lists many
birds, quail, partridge, prairie chicken,
passenger pigeon. He suggests the
protection of the quail and prairie
chicken but nothing about the passenger
pigeon, which must, therefore,
have been a common bird. The report
is valuable pioneer work in connection
with a study of the contents
of the stomachs of birds, this should
be included in the pioneer work carried
on also by S. A. Forbes and F. E.
L. Beal. This work was started in
1873. Prof. King also studied moths
and butterflies. (Geology of Wisconsin
1:406, 415.)

La Crosse and Lotus
A catalogue of plants was by G.
D. Sweezey (Geology of Wisconsin
1:376) and a few localities are given.
La Crosse is mentioned for the American
lotus. In other cases by inference
Western Wisconsin (La Crosse) is included
in their list, some plants certainly
not correctly determined. Dr.
W. F. Bundy, published a partial
list of fungi (Geology of Wisconsin
1:396). Localities are not given.
Dr. J. A. Renggly was interested in
botany-no doubt knew the botany
of the region from the standpoint of
an amateur. There came into my
hands a part of his library, the reports
of the Geological survey of Wisconsin
in which there is a catalogue
of plants by Dr. F. R. Hoy. and a
list of fungi by Dr. Bundy that seemed
to have interested Dr. Renggly. He
also had a copy of Woods Botany
which had shown much use. A few
years before his death, after I had a
little knowledge of plant life, he mentioned
finding on the sandy prairie
a stipa which was native to Europe.
This I found later to be a native
species-the needle grass (Stipa
spartea). I therefore have my doubts
of his great knowledge of plant life
of the region.

Dr. R. Gmelin with distinguished
ancestry once lived near La Crosse.
I was fortunate a few years ago to
have met a Mr. Henry Gmelin of Elkader,
Iowa, who had in his possession
some 269 species of flowering
plants collected by his father, Dr.
Rudolph Gmelin. This collection was
made between the years 1874 and
1894. An account of the scientific
work of the vicinity of La Crosse
would not be complete without a
mention of the botanical work, since
Dr. Gmelin had some very distinguished
connections in Germany. Mr.

10 EARLY LA CROSSE

R. I. Cratty, the curator of the Iowa
State college herbarium,, has an interesting
account of Dr. Gmelin's
life:

"He was born at Darmsheim, Wurtemburg,
Germany, October 30, 1831.
He was the son of Reverend Heinrich
Gmelin and Christina Louise Pfeiderer
Gmelin, a graduate from the University
of Tuebingen in medicine,
April 9, 1854, and took further medical
work at Vienna, Munich and
Prague, practiced his profession for
a while in Germany, was a surgeon
during the Franco-Prussian war, married
Sophia Alt and came to America,
October 20, 1873. After coming to
this country he practiced his profession
at Chicago, Ill., Milwaukee, Wis.,
St. Paul, Minn.; St. Cloud, Minn.,
Fountain City, St. Joseph's Ridge, La
Crosse, Wis., and at Lincoln, Neb.,
Guttenberg, Elkader and Garnavillo,
Iowa.

It is his connection as a scientist at
La Crosse, St. Joseph's Ridge, that I
want to mention. He collected a fine
set of plants, determined them correctly
and made notes on the native
plants of St. Joseph's Ridge. Like
many other physicians of the old type
he had a splendid academic training
along many lines and thus became interested
in natural history and natural
science. This taste of out-door
life led him to make a collection of
plants. Dr. Gmelin's ancestors were
all distinguished men. One of the
Gmelins was the author of the revised
editions Linnaeus, Species Plantarum.
A number of others were botanists
of considerable note, so that
Dr. Gmelin of St. Joseph's Ridge naturally
became interested in plants,
and it may be of interest to know
that one of the very common puccoon
plants found everywhere in the
sandy soil of Wisconsin is named after
one of his ancestors, namely the
(Lithospermum Gmelinij).

Interested in Plants

After several courses in botany, especially
cryptogamic botany, at the
University of Wisconsin in 1883 I became
greatly interested in plant life,
especially lower forms and so I began
to collect these plants. La Crosse was
a mecca of these parasitic fungi, not
so very unusual but the seasons were
favorable for their development. During
the years between 1882-1885 I
made a large collection especially in
the summer. The collections were
mostly made in the vicinity of La
Crosse on the Pammel farm, State
Road Coulee and the sand prairies
some in the tamarack marsh northeast
from La Crosse, Hokah and
Brownsville, Minnesota. The specimens
were sent to Dr. Wm. Trelease
who was then professor of botany in
the University of Wisconsin, who
kept a set for his herbarium and
some placed in my own collection.

During my University botanical
career some two hundred parasitic
species were found. Some for the
first time in this country. The specimens
I sent to Dr. Trelease, along
with his own collection, were published
by him under the title "Preliminary
List of Wisconsin Parasitic Fungi"
(Trans. Wisconsin Acad. of
Sciences etc., 6:106). This was my
first real botanical collecting. It
meant that I had to become familiar
with the flowering plants in order to
identify the parasitic species. Several
new species of fungi were discovered.
One on a grass with interesting spore
characters. Another rust on the white
flowering spurge was named after
me, the Ascidium Pammelii which
later was connected with a rust on
Switch grass. I also found a downy
mildew upon lettuce, the first time
it was reported in Wisconsin, and one
year a great deal of the early blight
of the potato was found. The first record
in this country of the downy
mildew of green foxtail and millet
Is of special interest as it is a most
destructive parasitic fungus on millet
and green foxtail. It was common in
our gardens. An interesting rust was
found on mesquit grass, the Puccinia
vexans, was found on the slope of
the hill entrance to State Road Coulee.
It is a real pleasure to go back after
collecting these plants 40 and 45
years ago and recall the exhilaration
of finding a new thing in plant life.

Large Collection

A large collection of flowering
plants also was made. This has been
preserved in Missouri Botanical Garden
and my own collection which was
given to Iowa State College. Dr. E.
M. Freeman has an interesting (Univ.
Bot. Studies 2 Ser. pt. IV p. 423) account
and reference of the powdery
mildews of Minnesota in which a
few references occur to this region.
In another paper on Minnesota rusts

EARLY LA CROSSE 11

in Minnesota Botanical Studies (2nd
Ser.Pt. V. p. 537) he refers to the
rusts found by the writer in Houston
County, Minnesota.

The next paper dealing with the
flora was an article I prepared first
for Colman's Rural World, St. Louis,
on some weeds, which was later expanded
and published in the Report
of Minnesota State Horticultural Society
(1887) under the title of Weeds
of Southwestern Wisconsin, in which
I listed 83 different kinds of weeds
and first reported squirrel tail grass
July 1886. Ox-eye daisy, quack grass
etc., were reported later (Ia. Acad.
Sci. 1:11, 76.) Somewhat later, I prepared
for Garden and Forest, a series
of articles on The Forest Vegetation
of the Upper Mississippi (4:460, 472,
530) in which I listed the common
trees referring to white pine, maples,
oaks, birch, etc., occurring between
Dubuque, Iowa, and La Crosse Wisconsin,
and at the same time a list a
woody plants of Western Wisconsin
(Iowa Acad. 1:11). In 1898 I prepared
an article on Botanizing in
Western Wisconsin for Plant World
(1:154)). I referred to the occurrence
of some interesting plants like coffee
bean first reported by J. S. Harris, La
Crescent, Minnesota and the occurrence
of the fringed orchis, the
pasque flower and some interesting
ferns. In another article in the same
journal (4:151) I regretted the disappearance
of the cranberry, and
large pink lady slipper in the peat bog
seven miles from La Crosse on the
West Salem Road. In another article
in Plant World (.226, 1902) I called
attention to an old Sphagnum bog
with its cranberry, pitcher plant and
sundew and how the bog was passing.

Botanist Writes

The first article published in Plant
World brought a short note from an
eminent botanist, the Rev. Edward
Lee Greene, at one time a rector in
an Episcopal Church in Wisconsin
and later Prof. of Botany in the University
of California and later connected
with Catholic University, who
stated (Plant World 2:37 1898) that
he had collected in this region, citing a
Sparta locality for one of the
St. John's Worts and he lists also the
tumbling pigweed and a fox glove.

Dr. Wm. Trelease in a paper on
puff balls and morels, lists several
collected at Sparta by Mrs. H. J. Taylor

In a somewhat lengthy paper, "A
Comparative Study of the Vegetation
on Sandstone of Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and Iowa," I gave an account of
the plants found on the Potsdam
Sandstone near La Crosse, comparing
coal measure sandstone in central
Iowa (Proc. Davenport Acad. Sci.
10.31). There was also an incidental
reference to the peat bog flora of La
Crosse county in my paper. "Peat
Bog Flora of Iowa." Dr. Bruce Fink
in several papers on lichens refers to
the lichens found in this region. One
of these is on a collection made by Dr.
C. C. Parry in 1848 and later, (probably
not all in Wisconsin (Ia. Acad.
Sci. 2:137) and in a paper an addition
to lichens distribution in the
Mississippi Valley (Proc. Iowa Acad.
17:173) This is the first definite report
on such plants for La Crosse.

Other Scientists

Some other botanists have contributed
to a knowledge of the plant life
of this region. Prof. Warren Upham,
formerly of the Minnesota Geological
Survey, in his catalogue of the Flora
of Minnesota published in 1884
(Geol. and Nat. Hist. Survey Pt. VI,
1883) mentions several localities in
southeastern Minnesota, Root River,
Hokah, etc. He lists the occurrence
of swamp white oak, mulberry, coffee
bean and a few other plants.
Frederick E. Clements, C. Otto Rosenqahl
and Dr. Frederick K. Butters.
in that excellent book "Minnesota
Trees and Shrubs," refer to species of
trees found on the west side of the
Mississippi River near La Crosse.
W. A. Wheeler in a contribution to
knowledge of the flora of southeastern
Minnesota in Minnesota Botanical
Studies (Ser. 2 pt. VI 353) notes
plants of the region. This paper consists
of a catalogue of the plants and
some notes on the plants found in
marshes, sandstone, and limestone
ledge water, springy places, mud flats
and' alluvial bottoms. It has some
most excellent illustrations. The
plants were collected in Houston
county, Minnesota, on Winnebago and
Crooked Creeks. The Mississippi River
flora was considered, also. It is the
most complete of the floras of this
region published.

Conway McMillan in a book on the
Minnesota Valley plants should also
be cited in this connection. Prof. McMillan

12 EARLY LA CROSSE

gives localities and distribution
for many plants of the region.
His southeast refers to Houston County.

The writer and Miss Charlotte M.
King published an extensive paper on
the vascular cryptogams of Iowa,
Southeastern Minnesota and western
Wisconsin (Proc. Ia. Acad, Sci.
9:134, 1902). It permanently fixes
the localities for these plants. Many
localities of plants have disappeared.
There is an excellent list of plants
for Winneshiek County, Iowa, by Dr.
B. Shimek and several papers of
mine that deal with the flora of the
Yellow River where I call attention to
the occurrence of the balsam fir and
many interesting northern plants like
the monk's hood, high bush cranberry,
buckthorn, white violet, etc.
The geology of this same region was
admirably discussed by Drs. Samuel
Calvin and James Lees published in
Iowa Geological Survey, Iowa Academy
of Science, and an especially readable
article by Dr. J. H. Lees, "Touring
with a Geologist in Iowa."

V
LA CROSSE PLANT LIFE AND
PARKS

WILD flowers in the old days were
abundant everywhere. It will not
be necessary for me to enumerate the
pasque flower of the sandy prairie
which carpeted the vacant untouched
spots. The same plant was common
on the sand hills. They are still
there but not in the profusion they
once were. In the same areas there
were great quantities of the yellow
and orange puccoon, associated with
the crowfoot violets, and a little later
blue-eyed and yellow star grass,
the goat's rue (Tephrosia) and partridge
pea, in midsummer the goldenrod,
and in August wild bergamot
(Monarda punctata). In late summer
and fall came the silvery, blue and
white aster.

Interesting Flowers

Our woodlands teemed with a large
number of most interesting flowers,
the yellow and blue violet, hepaticas,
blood root, wind flower, May apple
blue cohosh, Dutchman's breeches,
yellow crowfoot, Trillium. The yellow
lady slipper was common in woods
and armfulls could be picked on any
afternoon. In protected places there
were great quantities of the large
pink lady slipper. I recall that in an
hour or more, we picked a great armful
on our farm. Not a single one is
left now. It is rare, indeed, that one
can find the yellow lady slipper. The
columbines and shooting star (Dodecatheon
Media) were common in
rocky places. In marshy places there
were great quantities of the yellow
cowslip, but few of these are left.
There were great colonies of the
skunk cabbage right close to our
farm house, not a single plant left.
There were quantities of the Philadelphia
lily and tiger lily, fringed orchid
and saxifrage in marshy places,
not a single plant left.

Trees

At one time there were
many beautiful and large trees in the
vicinity of La Crosse. I remember
seeing a large red oak on our farm,
five feet in diameter. I do not suppose
that there is a single tree left
in the county of that size. There were
also large white oak, basswood and
elm. The ridges were known for the
fine white oak. Trees of this species.
three and three and a half feet in diameter
were not uncommon. There
also were very large bur oak.

The drier slopes were covered with
Quercitron or black oak and there
were some really fine trees of these.
The elms were not of large size but
there were trees three and a half to
four feet in diameter. The large ones
were found in the bottoms. The cottonwoods
generally occurred in the
bottoms but there were a few large
trees in State Road Coulee five and a
half feet in diameter. The hard maple
was common in some places, abundant
on the west slopes of hills below
Mormon Coulee. These were rare in
State Road Coulee. There were, in a
few places black walnuts and some
butternuts as well as paper birch,
iron wood, black cherry and slippery
elm in State Road Coulee.

There were many fine plum patches.
There were two or three well
marked types on our farm and some
especially well selected types on the
old Ramsey place below the road,
now our farm, no doubt selected and
planted by the Indians.

During my time in the seventies,
the farmers in the winter made a
business of selling cordwood at $3.00
per cord. The best wood came from
the ridges where the timber was particularly

EARLY LA CROSSE 13

good having been protected
from fire. Railroad ties were also
cut. The wild fox grape was common
everywhere. There was also another
kind less common on the clay ridges
in Coon Valley, wild strawberries of
two kinds were abundant. Blueberries
occurred in the north part of the
county. Cranberries in peat bogs.
Blackberries, black cap raspberries
and red raspberries were all common
in this region.

Prairie and Forest Fires
I shall never forget the numerous
prairie fires which were annually
started in the region of La Crosse.
Dozens of these fires could be seen
from our house for a number of weeks
during the spring season. There were
long lines of fire up the hills and
down, and these of course destroyed
everything in their path. Consequently,
many of the bluffs were not covered
with trees, and they were prairies
on a hillside, largely due to the
fact that these annual fires destroyed
the young tree growth. Later
when the communities became more
stable, these fires did not occur so
frequently. It was often a man's job
to put out the fires, and I recall many
of these that I helped put out on our
farm, because my father was quite
careful that the young growing trees
should not be burned. It may be noted
that when fires ceased to do their
destructive work, some of these
slopes recovered themselves with a
forest of trees and shrubs and one
could see the gradual encroaching of
paper birch, hazel, and oak on these
bluffs. For instance, at the mouth
of State Road Coulee the east slope
of the bluffs was quite bare in the
early days, but later since the fires
ceased, the trees have practically covered
the entire east slope.

Pine Specimen

A rather interesting incident occurred
that is well worth remembering.
A white pine, probably the only
one, occurred in State Road Coulee
on our farm. There were others in
Mormon Coulee and in Bostwick Valley.
This very fine young specimen of
the white pine was carefully transplanted
by us to our yard. This is at
least 50 years ago. A fire, soon after
planting this tree, swept over the
area on the right hand side of the
Coulee and destroyed all the young
tree growth so that this tree really is
quite interesting. It is now something
over 2 feet in diameter.

Preserve Sand Bur

I was very much interested in the
note by Mr. Mark Byers under the
title "The Drifter," in which he refers
to the sand bur, which at one
time was so very common everywhere
on the sand dunes and on sandy
fields and the prairies of La Crosse.
Mr. Byers' interesting note interested
me and I would certainly say, yes, by
all means preserve some of the sand
bur. In a recent brief survey that I
made on the matter of our wild flowers
in the vicinity of La Crosse I noticed
many things of interest.

I am glad to note that there are
still places where our wild flowers
have undisputed sway in certain
areas. It certainly adds charm to
one's ramble through the fields and
woods to see the array of wild flowers.
They are not as abundant as
they were fifty years ago when I was
a boy, but still our by-ways, the little
used roads, offer unlimited opportunities
for the field naturalist and
those who are interested in the great
out-of-doors, and I am reminded here
of the splendid array of spring flowers,
and prominent among these is
the bristly puccoon, named after Dr.
Gmelin, and I am also reminded of
the fact that great sandy stretches of
La Crosse and vicinity were covered
with white spurge or flowering
spurge, which certainly adds charm
to the region.

By the way it is a matter of general
interest that the introduction of
this as a cultivated plant first came
through the efforts of Dr. N. E. Hansen
of Brookings, S. D., who saw
this plant growing in great quantities
and recognized its superior merits
as an ornamental plant, and subsequently
it was placed on the market
by some of our enterprising florists
like Mr. Kienahs. Now this plant is
quite generally used for bouquets and
for its aesthetic value.

I was particularly charmed with
the splendid array of wild flowers
found on the right-of-way of several
of the railroads like the Northwestern,
the Burlington and the Milwaukee,
especially the many wild flowers
on the sandy soil. There were great
quantities of one of the small sun
flowers which is adapted to sandy

14 EARLY LA CROSSE

soil and has a slightly brownish
stem. The technical name in this
connection is Heiianthus occidentalis.
It has large yellow ray flowers and a
yellow disk. It was abundant everywhere
where the prairies remained
untouched, and indeed it is a wonderful
plant. Great quantities of the artichoke
used by the Indians, the cultivated
form known as Jerusalem artichoke,
were in bloom on border of upland
woods.

Prairie Coneflower

I was also greatly interested in
great quantities of the prairie coneflower
(Lepachys pinnata), which
occurred not only on this sandy soil
but in open spaces on gravel knolls
and on hillside prairies. A little earlier
in the season along these railroad
right-of-ways were beautiful specimens
of purple coneflower, and during
my visits to La Crosse I saw several
interesting Sick trefoils, one of
them known as Canadian tick trefoil
(Desmodium canadense) in gravelly
prairie soil or somewhat sandy places
along the Milwaukee and Burlington
railroads' right-of-way, and how
charming and what an aesthetic value
the flowers along the railroads have.
Can we not preserve them? The railroads
should help in this movement
to make their rights-of-way, preserves.
In the woods I found an interesting plant,
the large flowered tick trefoil
(Desmodium grandiflorum.

I was also particularly interested in
the abundance of the hoarypea (Tephrosia
virginiana) with silky leaves.
This occurred in great quantities on
the sandy soil underneath the black or
northern pin oak. The prairie clovers
of which the purple one was the most
interesting and conspicuous were
common, not only on the uplands and
prairies on limestone soil but also
equally common in sandy prairies
along the right-of-way of the railroads
and where cultivation had not
destroyed the original habitat. The
white species (Petalostemum candidum)
was also common, but less conspicuous.
The lead plant (Amorpha
canescens) with wooly or whiteish
leaves and purplish flower was found
on the high gravelly and limestone
prairies.

Partridge Pea

Everywhere there were great
quantities of the partridge pea (Cassis
chamaecrista) and associated with
it was a native species of bean, and
then the Culver's root (Veronica Virginica)
was in its height of flowering.
How conspicuous and beautiful. It
was common on borders of woods and
in rich prairies. I was, likewise, interested
particularly to find how
abundant in rather rich sandy prairies
the compass plant or rosin weed
occurred. It reminded us of the devotion
paid to it by Henry Longfellow.
The air was fragrant from the
flower of the bergamot, which was
in full bloom and the bees were getting
their spicy honey from this wonderful
plant which our pharmacists
have found so useful for the thymenthol.
I noticed species of wild horse
mint (Monarda mollis) which was
abundant and in full bloom. Along
the borders of woods the virgin's
bower was also in full bloom, a
unique and interesting plant, the
flowers with the fragrance of vanilla.
The bottom lands were covered with
the boneset and joe-pye weed, and
some species of sunflower and sneeze
weed were bundant in similar situations,
and also the Spanish needles
which bloom of course much later. I
was interested, also, in the abundance
of the American lotus not far distant
from La Crosse, the fine beds on the
islands north of La Crosse and again
in the bayous south of La Crosse.
Certainly La Crosse should preserve
some of these lotus beds for their
beauty. Why not a lotus park?

Visit to Scout Camp

In this connection, too, may I mention
the trip I took from La Crosse
to the Boy Scout camp on the Black
river, the beautiful array of flowers
found on the way, the various tints of
flowers making a very pleasing effect.
And I want to commend the care being
taken in preserving some of the
plants in this area, from the standpoint
of conservation, and may I mention
in this connection two very interesting
areas between Holmen and
the Black river where the red pine
and jack pine occur. There is too
some jack pine occurring nearer La
Crosse than the Holmen area, namely,
between West Salem, Bangor and
Sparta. So far as I know the Holmen
area of red pine and jack pine is the
most southern distribution of these
trees, on the heights adjacent to the
Mississippi river. The areas are not

EARLY LA CROSSE 15

large but they should be preserved.
The areas are pretty thoroughly pastured,
but sometime the botanist will
want to know that these plants occurred
here. I, therefore, want at
this time to put on record the occurrence
of these groups on these rocky
out-crops of the Mississippi river, associated
with interesting plants like
the rock rose, Missouri goldenrod,
silky aster, the prairie rose, the harebell
or bellflower and the bird-foot
violet, the pasque flower, St. John's
wort, etc., and I think there are also
some blueberry. I also visited the
tamarack swamp on the West Salem
road beyond the Four-mile house.

Interesting Plants

During my early botanizing in La
Crosse this tamarack swamp yielded a
large amount of interesting plants
like the sundew, pitcher plant, fringorchis,
pogonia, calopogon and moccasin
flower, besides the cranberry.
With the tamaracks there were the
red osier and the alder. The red osier,
tamarack and certain willows still occur
in abundance but the silty material
carried down from the valleys
has utterly destroyed the bog so far
as the rare plants are concerned. I
do not know, of course, how it would
be possible to restore the old peat
bog with its sundew, pitcher plant
and rare orchis, but at any rate it
would be worth while to reclaim part
of the tamarack swamp as a county or
city park, because more and more
persons are becoming interested in
the great out-of-doors. Persons want
to know the names of plants.

Parks and Recreation

Under the head of Conservation,
something should be said about the
recreational opportunities in the past,
the present and the future. One of
the earliest references I find to the
scenic bluffs in the vicinity of La
Crosse was made by a Baptist clergyman
quite early in the history of La
Crosse. He referred to the fine hills
with a wonderful view of the river.
This scenery could not be equaled
anywhere in the United States, and
he said that it was a rare opportunity
to see the Mississippi River with
its numerous islands. During the early
days the various organizations
such as the Germania, Turnverein,
and others made use of private property
in the vicinity of La Crosse
for recreational purposes. The places
most frequently visited were those
of Oehler's Mills in Mormon Coulee,
our own farm in State Road Coulee,
and Bostwick Valley.

And in those days it meant that
usually in going to these places it was
by hiking. Sometimes wagons and
carriages were used, for it was generally
a long hike. At the time of the
Sangerfest in the seventies, our place
was used for a large picnic. There
were no parks near La Crosse in the
early seventies. There were a few
squares in the city. Some of these
were gifts of private individuals. The
Pettibone Park opposite La Crosse
was created later. It was formerly in
the state of Minnesota, but an act of
the Minnesota legislature turned this
over to the state of Wisconsin. Pettibone
Park on Pettibone Island is a
most interesting place and has been
made usable in recent years. Several
other parks have also been created in
recent times. One of the more notable
ones is the Hixon Park around
the city reservoir on the bluff. La
Crosse has never utilized the hills and
bluffs for recreational purposes as it
should. The bluffs at the entrance to
State Road Coulee, Grandad's bluff,
and other bluffs afford one a superb
view of the Mississippi with its
numerous islands, lakes and streams.
This rough land is of little value for
agricultural purposes and I am sure
that at some time all the bluffs to the
east of the city of La Crosse will be
used for recreational purposes, and
in the not far distant future land on
these bluffs will be used for residences
in order to get the exhilarating
air and the view of the Mississippi
with its islands. It seems to me
that La Crosse should lose no time in
making use of this potential wealth
from the standpoint of recreation. It
is an asset that should be considered
from the recreational, scientific and
historical points of view.

VI
WILD ANIMAL LIFE
The Passenger Pigeon

THIS was an extremely common
bird in the seventies. At least I
recall seeing large numbers of these
birds, during the migratory periods
flying north during the spring and
the return migration south in the fall.
In the seventies (about 1876) hundreds

16 EARLY LA CROSSE

of these flocks were seen by me
in a continuous stream. These flocks
reached from the hills to the Mississippi
River. These flocks were a quarter
of a mile to a mile long and went
in a continuous stream. They would
go in seemingly endless procession.
W. T. Hornaday, in his Vanishing
Wild Life, quotes Alexander Wilson
that when his notes were made 2,230,272,000
birds occurred and Wilson
thought the number was probably
much greater. About 1876 at La
Crosse, the pigeons were caught in
great nets. The net was one that was
used with several live pigeons. The
birds descended and landed on this
net, the cord was pulled and birds
caught. I have seen wagon loads of
these skinned birds taken to market
at La Crosse. Some of these traps
were set in State Road Coulee on the
Hageh farm just to the east of our
farm. There is nothing in the story
that these birds were destroyed in the
ocean in one of their migrations. The
last bird was killed near Detroit
Michigan on September 14. 1908, so
Dr. Hornaday tells us. The last female
passenger pigeon in the Cincinnati
Zoological Garden died a
few years ago. The pioneer hunters of
La Crosse did their share towards the
extinction of this magnificent bird.

Prairie Chickens

This wonderful bird was common
formerly in the vicinity of La
Crosse. The pioneer sportsmen of La
Crosse, in the seventies, could in a
few hours shoot a dozen or fifteen
of these birds. Many birds occurred
on our farm, especially on
the lower forty, and in driving
through the country many of these
birds would fly up along the roadsides.

They were especially common in
fields where grain had been cut. I
have not seen a prairie chicken in
La Crosse since the early eighties,
though Mr. Wells Bennett states that
he saw some near the stone quarry
on our farm in State Road Coulee a
few years ago.

Prof. F. H. King in the seventies
recommended that the state enact a
law providing for a closed season
(Wisconsin Geology 1882). Many
states have since provided a closed
season. The bird is now protected in
many states. Within the last twenty
years, I have seen several large
flocks in Iowa, largely migrants from
South Dakota, and Dr. Guard has observed
a few in the vicinity of Ames
as late as 1926. The bird is doomed.

The Quail

The quail was common in the late
seventies and early eighties about
La Crosse. There were large numbers
of them on our farm. One could find
them at any time along fences and
open clearings. It is now protected
in many states. They still occur. I
have seen then in some numbers in
recent years near La Crosse. In the
early days they were shot by the hundred
near La Crosse. It is well enough
to remember according to the U. S.
Biological Survey that each quail is
worth $20.00 annually to the farmer
for the insects and weed seeds it
devours. Dr. Hornadlay thinks the
bird is doomed. He has given us some
statistics on these matters.

The Partridge or Ruffed Grouse

This bird in the early days was
common in the woods. They occurred
in the woods within a short distance
of our house and any afternoon
the hunter could bag a few of these.
I have shot them myself. The grouse
on the whole is more common than
the prairie chicken, though once more
widely distributed than now. There
are a few left near La Crosse. This
bird occurred through eastern and
central Iowa. There are still a few
left in Van Buren and adjacent counties
in southeastern part of the state
and in Allamakee and Clayton Counties
in Iowa.

Other Birds

Some other common birds should
be mentioned. The whippoorwill was
common and during the summer and
spring dozens of these birds could
be heard in the evening. Many of
these nested on the ground on our
farm in the seventies. The Brown
thresher, robin, bobolink, oriole and
blue jay, black bird, crow, ruby throated
humming birds, barn swallow,
phoebe, blue bird, pewee, cat
bird were some of the common birds.
Red bellied woodpecker, yellow hammer,
rose-breasted grosbeak, Canadian
goose, canvas back, etc., were some
of the birds noted by me in the late
seventies.

Other Animals

I may -now note a few of the
animals. The fox was not uncommon

EARLY LA CROSSE 17

in our woods. There was an occasional
wolf; the raccoon was fairly common,
badgers were common, gray
squirrels were common, an occasional
black squirrel, chipmunks were common.
Ground squirrels and ground
moles were abundant. The bob-cat
was not infrequently reported. I remember
seeing one caught in a trap
on a neighboring farm in the early
seventies. There were no beavers but
muskrats were common. There were
no deer although stray animals passed
through our farm in the early seventies.
I remember seeing three of these
on an occasion and on another occasion
a single animal.

My father told me that a large
number of these animals were killed
during the hard winter in the late
fifties (1858). It was during a season
with a heavy snow fall, followed
by a sleet. The poor animals broke
through the ice, could not readily extricate
themselves and were killed by
would-be sportsmen with clubs. There
were many reptiles; among the most
common in the early days were the
prairie bull, blue racer, garter, water
snakes of several kinds, greenish and
brownish. The most dreaded of all
was the rattlesnake, some of these
of large size. I cannot vouch for the
size given by some. It was said the
larger ones were about as large as a
good sized wrist and 6 feet long, at
least. Some had 20 rattles.

Many Poisonings

Frequent cases of poisoning were
reported in the seventies. I recall seeing
one bite our pet dog. We gave the
dog treatment which saved it. In
some way the dog had lost its sense
of smell. I had a little personal experience
in a part of our farm which
was not pastured. I was passing
along a little used road, saw a rattlesnake
on the bank, admired its color
and said, "You are too pretty to kill"
and threw a stick at it. The snake
crawled away. I crossed the little
brook and as I did so a snake jumped
for me without any evidence of rattling.
I take it the snake had been
coiled. Fortunately it did not strike
me. In the early seventies I saw the
only glass snake, not a true snake
but one of the lizards, I have ever
seen. It was on the Hagen farm adjacent
to ours. Our dog picked it
up and shook it. I recall the pieces
flying in several directions, I
thought this, indeed, very strange.
I do not see that there has
been much change in the number of
toads and frogs.

Fish Abundant

Fish in the early seventies were
abundant: bass, sunfish, pickerel,
catfish. The latter were of enormous
size. I remember some that must have
weighed 100 pounds. They were
caught by the wagon load. There were
enormous quantities of the common
clam. The Indians evidently used
them as food. They were found on the
sandy banks of the Mississippi river.
The common land turtle was
fairly abundant. The snapping turtle
was a common inhabitant of the
Mississippi river. The eggs of this
species were laid in the sandy banks
of the river. The eggs were frequently
used by the Indians.

I did not know enough about insects
to recognize many of the species.
I do recall the enormous quantities
of the Monarch butterfly in the
seventies. They were especially numerous
on the left hand side of the
entrance to State Road Coulee. These
were there by the hundreds of thousands
and I wondered where they
came from. There were many of the
yellow papilio the larvae of which fed
on the celery. The cabbage and small
yellow butterfly and Vanessa were
common, as well as the little blue
butterfly.

Beetles Common

As to moths, a few of the Lunar
moths were found, and also, a few of
the Cecropia moths. The Colorado
beetle was common in the seventies.
My earliest recollection was the gathering
of these insects to save the potato
crop. I recall also the appearance
of the 17 year locust and the abundance
of the cinch bug in the late seventies.
It was especially destructive
to wheat, the oats, corn and also
fed on foxtails. The loss to the crop
was very large.

As to diseases of plants I recall
that in the late seventies there was
much grain rust and some smut and
bunt. This was very severe in a few
places. In one case in Mormon Coulee
the wheat crop was almost a complete
failure because of rust and smut. I remember
also potato blight but this
was in the eighties. In the early
eighties our plums were attacked by
plum pocket. I could not understand
why plums became large so rapidly.

18 EARLY LA CROSSE

I did not know that these enlarged
plums were caused by a parasitic
fungus.

VII.
INDIAN MOUNDS AND
EARLY SETTLERS

The Indians, both men and women,
were common enough in the vicinity
of La Crosse during my boyhood
days. They used to peddle fish,
mostly catfish, which they caught in
Mississippi river sloughs. Occasionally
during the summer they sold
blueberries. These were no doubt
gathered by the Indians at Tomah
and shipped into La Crosse on the
Chicago and Milwaukee railroad.
They would trap and hunt. I recall
on one occasion that an Indian
brought to my brother Hermann,
scalps of some young wolves which