Transcriber's Note:
Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation in the originaldocument have been preserved.
Historic Waterways
SIX HUNDRED MILES OF CANOEING
DOWN THE ROCK, FOX, AND
WISCONSIN RIVERS
BY
REUBEN GOLD THWAITES
SECRETARY OF THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF WISCONSIN
Other roads do some violence to Nature, and bring the traveller to stareat her; but the river steals into the scenery it traverses without intrusion,silently creating and adorning it, and is free to come and go as thezephyr.—Thoreau; A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers.
CHICAGO
A. C. McCLURG AND COMPANY
1888
Copyright
By A. C. McClurg and Co.
a.d. 1888.
This Little Volume
IS INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR
TO HIS WIFE,
HIS MESSMATE UPON TWO OF THE THREE VACATION
VOYAGES HEREIN RECORDED,
AND HIS FELLOW-VOYAGER DOWN THE RIVER
OF TIME.
PREFACE.
There is a generally accepted notionthat a brief summer vacation, if at allobtainable in this busy life of ours, must bespent in a flight as far afield as time will allow;that the popular resorts in the mountains, bythe seaside, or on the margins of the upperlakes must be sought for rest and enjoyment;that neighborhood surroundings should, in themad rush for change of air and scene, be leftbehind. The result is that your average vacationist—ifI may be allowed to coin aneeded word—knows less of his own Statethan of any other, and is inattentive to thedelights of nature which await inspectionwithin the limits of his horizon.
But let him mount his bicycle, his saddle-horse,or his family carriage, and start outupon a gypsy tour of a week or two along thecountry roads, exploring the hills and plainsand valleys of—say his congressional district;8or, better by far, take his canoe, andwith his best friend for a messmate explorethe nearest river from source to mouth, andmy word for it he will find novelty and freshair enough to satisfy his utmost cravings;and when he comes to return to his counter,his desk, or his study, he will be conscious ofhaving discovered charms in his own localitywhich he has in vain sought in the accustomedpaths of the tourist.
This volume is the record of six hundredmiles of canoeing experiences on historic waterwaysin Wisconsin and Illinois during thesummer of 1887. There has been no attemptat exaggeration, to color its homely incidents,or to picture charms where none exist. It isintended to be a simple, truthful narrative ofwhat was seen and done upon a series ofnovel outings through the heart of the Northwest.If it may induce others to undertakesimilar excursions, and thus increase the littlenavy of healthy and self-satisfied canoeists,the object of the publication will have beenattained.
I am under obligations to my friend, th