Historic Waterways Six Hundred Miles of Canoeing Down the Rock, Fox, and Wisconsin Rivers

There is a generally accepted notion that a brief summer vacation, if at all obtainable in this busy life of ours, must be spent in a flight as far afield as time will allow; that the popular resorts in the mountains, by the seaside, or on the margins of the upper lakes must be sought for rest and enjoyment; that neighborhood surroundings should, in the mad rush for change of air and scene, be left behind. The result is that your average vacationist--if I may be allowed to coin a needed word--knows less of his own State than of any other, and is inattentive to the delights of nature which await inspection within the limits of his horizon.

But let him mount his bicycle, his saddle-horse, or his family carriage, and start out upon a gypsy tour of a week or two along the country roads, exploring the hills and plains and valleys of--say his congressional district; or, better by far, take his canoe, and with his best friend for a messmate explore the nearest river from source to mouth, and my word for it he will find novelty and fresh air enough to satisfy his utmost cravings; and when he comes to return to his counter, his desk, or his study, he will be conscious of having discovered charms in his own locality which he has in vain sought in the accustomed paths of the tourist.

This volume is the record of six hundred miles of canoeing experiences on historic waterways in Wisconsin and Illinois during the summer of 1887. There has been no attempt at exaggeration, to color its homely incidents, or to picture charms where none exist. It is intended to be a simple, truthful narrative of what was seen and done upon a series of novel outings through the heart of the Northwest. If it may induce others to undertake similar excursions, and thus increase the little navy of healthy and self-satisfied canoeists, the object of the publication will have been attained.

I am under obligations to my friend, the Hon. Levi Alden, for valuable assistance in the revision of proof-sheets.

R. G. T. MADISON, Wis., December, 1887.

PREFACE.
INTRODUCTION.
Table of Distances--Total, 607 Miles.
The Rock River
The Fox River (of Green Bay).
The Wisconsin River.
The Rock River.
Illustration: Map of the Rock River to Accompany Thwaites’s “Historic Waterways”
Chapter 1. The winding yahara.
Chapter 2. Barbed-Wire Fences.
Chapter 3. An Illinois Prairie Home.
Chapter 4. The Half-Way House.
Chapter 5. Grand Detour Folks.
Chapter 6. An Ancient Mariner.
Chapter 7. Storm-Bound at Erie.
Chapter 8. The Last Day Out.
The Fox River (of Green Bay).
Illustration: Map of the Fox-Wisconsin Rivers to accompany Thwaites’s “Historic Waterways” The Fox River (of Green Bay).
First Letter.
Second Letter.
Third Letter
Fourth Letter.
Fifth Letter.
Sixth Letter.
The Wisconsin River.
Chapter 1. Alone in the Wilderness.
Chapter 2. The Last of the Sacs.
Chapter 3. A Panoramic View.
Chapter 4. Floating Through Fairyland.
Chapter 5. The Discovery of the Mississippi.

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Historic Waterways Six Hundred Miles of Canoeing Down the Rock, Fox, and Wisconsin Rivers