magnitude and importance, those little lakes in the garden, southeast of us, containing a few acres each, mirroring their shining beauties into our faces. But O, how beautifully, and magnificently fenced, or walled in, is our garden! While there is a general level, bounding the top, yet what an indescribable variety of topping out. Cones, oblongs, smooth ridges, trees, huge rocks, rough, ragged and jageed, in almost endless variety. Perpendicular ledges boldly facing us: or single rocks of varied sizes; smooth bald heads, and ridges; deep, and dark chasms; wide openings of river's mouths; all making one of the grandest panoramas conceivable. At present this “wild scenery” is being effaced by the profuse growth of timber. Near the southern extremity, lies the beautiful flourishing city of La Crosse, with its tall church spires and electric towers, fringed with smoke from its numerous lumber mills; most appropriately and providentially named. La Crosse—saying nothing of its being the name of an ancient game modernized—as here crosses the garden one of the four notable rivers, whose opening and bluff outline, may be seen coming in from the “far east,” making and containing the notable and once far-famed, “La Crosse valley”; on which is located the beautiful city of Sparta.

[pg 13]

Just beyond La Crosse city, and to the left we see the outline entrance of Mormon Cooley valley, which creek bounds the lower end of our garden. Now as we trace the wall to the left,—past the La Crosse valley, and first eastern gate—we discover another small line of opening through which runs Half-way creek, notable as the home (Holman) of Norwegians. The next bold heavy prominence is “King bluff.” Still tracing on, we notice some queer looking rocks, lying on top of a ridge; then, the Twin points, the outer one the “Sugar Loaf,” a most beatiful cone mound pointed with rock, and beckon to Black river valley, this side of which, is “Castle rock;” and to the left, a wide opening and a beautiful valley,—the central and main eastern gate—with branching valleys, extending east and northeast, all in front of you, down which flows the notable “Black river,” appropriately named, from the natural blackness of its waters, and because it cuts and divides our garden through its center, and making a beautiful belt of timbered bottoms. As it nears the Mississippi, it forms a delta, one part turning to the left, and running parallel to the Mississippi, forming that grand booming pond, and depot of lumbering at Onalaska; and then empties itself into the Mississippi at LaCrosse; thus inclosing, and forming French island, once the resort of counterfeiters.

As you glance up Black River valley, coming in from the right, is “Flemming's creek,” or Lewis' valley, a fertile valley, in which is located the euphonious Mendora; those blue highlands, apparently at the head of the main valley is “Robinson's,” or “Pine Hill,” [pg 14] between Black River Falls and Sparta. This way to the left, that beautiful notch in the bluff is “Peacock Pass,” and is just this side of North Bend, and though apparently so near, is some “twenty miles away.” This heavy point, at the left of Black river, is “Heuston's Bluff,” the next best point from which to view this valley garden. To the left and farther away, look at that great rock, big as a barn, topping out another cone. That is the veritable “Decora's Peak,” named after that wonderful one-eyed chieftain, who, with a few of his brave and loyal band, lodged, occasionally in a cave in that rock; and from its hight were enable to discover any game, or even an enemy within a large range. Once on a time, it is said, he discovered the prowling “Black Hawk,” with his band of warriors, and ran to Prairie du Chien, ninety miles in one day, to inform the U. S. Government; and, then, helped to capture their enemy. A little farther to the left, and just across the garden from us wedged in a narrow opening, lies the village of Galesville, on Beaver creek,—a branch of Black river,—with its exquisitely beautiful lake, and bounding fish, its fine water power, health giving mineral springs, Galesville University and choice people. “Beautiful for situation” is Galesville, the joy of all its inhabitants, if not of all the earth. And “as the hills are round about Jerusalem,” so are the hills, and vastly more magnificent ones, round about Galesville, and the scenery simply GRAND. Looking up Beaver creek valley, to the left, is Maughmer's bluff which affords a grand view; and still to the left, that dim [pg 15] mountain peak, pointed with rock and shrubs (in the direction of Blair, in Trempealeau valley,) is “Chapel Peak.” In the early settlement, by whites, of this region of country, two Methodist itinerants, A. B. Smith and Isaac Springer were following a dim wagon track, on their way to Galesville, which track passed along at the base of that peak; and they clambered to its top, and found there “The rock-formed pulpit” or altar, which had stood there for ages, into which they entered, and as they were both good singers, they sang,—to make the welkins ring, as there was nothing else thereto hear:—

Still tracing the garden wall as we turn to the left, we face the “Big Tamarac” through an opening in the wall, a swamp of dense tamarac, one mile wide, and six miles long, bordered with belts and groves of oak, furnishing fencing and fuel for the upper end of the garden. Another turn and you are looking through “Whistler's Pass,” another of “Nature's highways” out of the garden; this leading through the Polander settlement into the Trempealeau Valley. Another turn and we mark the bluff outline and entrance into the garden—the third and last eastern gate,—of the Trempealeau river, crossing it at the upper end; and like Black river, it forms a delta, one part running down along side of the Mississippi, forming an island, on the lower end of which, is that wonderful “Mount Trempealeau,” a rocky cone covered with [pg 16] pine trees, where with the outlet of Trempealeau lake, it flows through a narrow opening between the mountain and crescent hanging garden—of which it forms a part—into the Mississippi river. Trempealeau Lake, at the head of the hanging garden, just back of the mountain, is a body, principally