shores. The rivers generally flow in a southwest direction and discharge their waters into the Mississippi, which flows along the southwest border of the State for more than 200 miles. The most important interior river is the Wisconsin, which has a course of about 200 miles almost directly south, when it changes its course westwardly, and flows about 100 miles further to its junction with the Mississippi. At favorable stages it is navigable for steamboats 180 miles. The Bad Axe, Black, Chippewa, and St. Croix rivers are important streams for floating timber and lumber from the pine region in the northwest part of the State. The streams flowing into Lake Superior are small, but rapid, affording excellent mill-sites.

The climate is severe and the winters long, but the State is free from the unhealthy changes which are common farther south. The south and middle portions form a fine agricultural region. Wheat is the great staple production, though all kinds of small grain and Indian corn are raised successfully. Large portions of the State are well adapted to grazing and the dairy. The northern part of the State, about the head-waters of the Black and Chippewa rivers, and the sources of the rivers emptying into Lake Superior, has but limited agricultural capabilities, as in that region are many ponds and marshes, and also large quantities of boulders scattered over the surface.

There are many objects of interest to the tourist and the lover of the picturesque. The rivers abound in rapids and falls. In St. Louis river there is a series of cascades which have a descent of 320 feet in 16 miles. The Menomonee river at Quinnesec Falls dashes down over a perpendicular ledge of rocks 40 feet, and has a fall of 134 feet in a mile and a half. Among other noted falls are the St. Croix, Chippewa and Big Bull Falls in the Wisconsin river. Along the rivers are many grand views of bluffs, rising from 150 to 200 feet, and at one place in Richland county on the Wisconsin, where it passes through a narrow gorge, the cliffs have an elevation of from 400 to 500 feet. On the Mississippi, in La Crosse county, the rocks rise 500 feet perpendicularly above the water.

The great lead region extends into the southwestern part of Wisconsin. The deposit here is intermingled to some extent with copper and zinc, together with some silver. Copper is found in a number of places, and also some iron ore. The iron ores of the Lake Superior region extend into Wisconsin. Beautiful varieties of marble are found on the Menomonee river and in other localities.

On the upper Wisconsin river, and other tributaries of the Mississippi, north of the Wisconsin, are vast forests of pine, and immense quantities are annually floated down the Mississippi to supply the markets in other States. Among other forest trees are spruce, tamarack, cedar, hemlock, oak of several varieties, birch, aspen, basswood, hickory, elm, ash, poplar, sycamore and sugar-maple.

Wisconsin was visited at an early period by French missionaries, and a settlement was made in the latter part of the seventeenth century.

Madison, the capital of the State, is situated on an isthmus between Lakes Mendota and Monona, 80 iniles west of Milwaukee, and 132 miles northwest of Chicago. When the place was selected for the seat of government in 1836, there were no buildings except a solitary log cabin. The State capitol is a fine looking stone building erected at a cost of $500,000, and stands on an elevation seventy feet above the lakes. The city overlooks a charming country, diversified by a pleasing variety of scenery. It has steadily and rapidly increased in population.

The great city of Wisconsin is Milwaukee (called at an early day "Milwacky and next to Chicago may be regarded as the commercial metropolis of the Northwest. It is situated on the west shore of Lake Michigan, about 90 miles north of Chicago. Milwaukee river empties into the lake at this point. The city is situated on both sides of the river, and has one of the best harbors on the whole chain of lakes. The fine water power of the Milwaukee river is an important element in its prosperity. Being a port of entry, the government has expended large sums in the improvements of its harbor, and in the erection of public buildings.

In 1805 Jacques Viean, a half-breed trader whose house was at Green Bay, visited the country at the mouth of the Milwaukee river for the purpose of trading with the Indians. This he did annually until in September, 1818, when he brought with him a young man named Solomon Juneau, who became his son-in-law. The young man established friendly relations with the Indians, and in 1822 erected a block-house on the site of the present city of Milwaukee. He remained for 18 years the only permanent white resident, being visited occasionally by fur traders to whom he sold goods. In 1836, the village which has grown to be a large city, began to appear. Juneau died in 1856, at the age of 64 years, having lived to see the place he founded grow to a prosperous and flourishing city. In 1836 the population was 275; in 1840, it was 1810; in 1850, it was 19,873; in 1860, it was 45,286; in 1870, it was 71,640; and at the present time (1878) it is estimated at 123,

000.

Among other important towns and cities of Wisconsin are Racine, Janesville, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Watertown, Sheboygan, Beliot, Kenosha, La Crosse, Wauwatosa, Manitowoc, Portage City, Platteville, Sheboygan Falls, Beaver Dam, Whitewater, Port Washington, Green Bay, Mineral Point, Shullsburg, Monroe, Prescott, and Hudson.

The following table shows the population of Wisconsin at the close of each decade from 1800 to 1870:

The above aggregate for 1860 includes 1017 enumerated as Indians, and the aggregate for 1870 includes 1206 enumerated as Indians.

MINNESOTA.

The eastern portion of Minnesota formed a part of the territory surrendered by the French to Great Britain at the peace of 1763, and subsequently by the latter to the United States at the close of the Revolution. The western portion is a part of the territory known as the Louisiana Purchase, ceded by France to the United States in 1803. It received a Territorial form of government under an act of Congress which became a law March 3, 1849, and was admitted into the Union as a State May 11, 1853.

The extreme length of Minnesota north and south is about 380 miles, and

in width is about 300 miles. It embraces an area of 81,259 square miles, or 52,005,760 acres. The face of the country generally presents the appearance of an undulating plain, although it is the most elevated tract of country between the Gulf of Mexico and Hudson's Bay. There are no mountains, but the summits of the water-sheds rise to a height of nearly two thousand feet above the level of the sea.

Minnesota is one of the best watered States in the Union, being drained by many rivers and dotted over with innumerable small lakes and some of considerable size. The great Mississippi has its humble origin as a mere rivulet in Lake Itasca. This diminutive stream, here but a few feet in width, first meanders in a northeasterly direction, receiving tribute as it passes from a number of other small lakes, when it changes its course to the south, and after meandering a length of six hundred miles in Minnesota, dashes its waters down over the Falls of St. Anthony, then flows along the border of the State two hundred miles further, and thence grandly pursues its course to the Gulf of Mexico. Several tributaries of the Mississippi drain the southeastern portion of the State. The Red River of the North drains the northern part, passing off into Hudson's Bay. It is the outlet of a number of lakes, among which are Traverse, Otter Tail, and Red. This river also forms the west boundary of the State for about two hundred miles. That portion of the State sloping toward Lake Superior is drained by the St. Louis and its tributaries. St. Peters, or Minnesota river, has a total length of over four hundred miles within the State. Its principal branch is Blue Earth or Mankato river, which flows nearly north. The St. Peters, CrowWing and Crow rivers are tributaries of the Mississippi from the west..

Lake Superior forms a part of the eastern boundary, and the Lake of the Woods a part of the northern. Among other lakes of considerable size are Rainy, Red Lake, Lake Cass, and Leech Lake. Devil Lake in the northwest part is about 40 miles long and 15 miles wide, and is said to have no visible outlet. Lake Pepin is an expansion of the Mississippi in the northeastern part of the State, and is a beautiful sheet of water. The State abounds in small lakes which are mostly clear and beautiful. Owing to the multitude of lakes Minnesota seldom suffers from inundations, as they tend to check the sudden rise and violence of the streams.

The climate of the northern part of Minnesota is severe, but in the southern part is not so rigorous as to prevent fair crops of Indian corn from being produced some seasons. Wheat and other winter grains succeed admirably in nearly all parts. In the valleys of the rivers the soil is excellent, and even the valley of the Red River of the North is regarded as a fine agricultural region. Wheat is the great staple and the facilities for manufacturing flour are unsurpassed, as the water power is practically unlimited. A portion of the State is heavily timbered with pine, and one of the great industries is the manufacture of lumber. Extensive forests of pine grow on the Rum, St. Croix, and Pine rivers, and on the shores of the Mississippi, below Pokegamin Falls. Taken, as a whole, however, Minnesota cannot be called a well-wooded country. The river bottoms furnish some very good growths of oak, aspen, soft maple, basswood, ash, birch, white walnut, linden and elm. In the swamps or marshy places are found tamarack, cedar, and

cypress.

Minnesota presents to the tourist many natural objects of interest, especially in her grand and beautiful scenery along the Mississippi and around her lakes. St. Anthony's Falls are celebrated, not so much for their magnitude as a

cataract, as for their geological interest and the wild scenery connected with them. Like Niagara, the falls are divided by an island, with the larger volume of water passing on the west side. This west division is 310

yards wide. The greatest perpendicular fall of water is but 16 feet, but including the rapids the descent is 58 feet in 260 rods. The rivers of Minnesota have numerous picturesque falls and rapids, and are in many places bordered with perpendicular bluffs of limestone and sandstone.

So far as revealed by geological examination, Minnesota possesses no great mineral or metallic wealth. There is, however, a rich deposit of iron ore in that part of the State bordering on Lake Superior. A thin vein of lead was discovered by the geological corps of Prof. Owen on Waraju river, and some copper was found, but not "in place," having probably been carried thither by the drift. Stone suitable for building purposes exists in great abundance. In the southwest part of the State is a singular deposit known as "red pipestone." Of this the Indians made their pipes, and the place of its deposit was held in great sacredness by them. It is said that different tribes at enmity with each other, met here on terms of amity and smoked the pipe of peace. Longfellow has rendered this locality celebrate ' in "Hiawatha." It was here

"On the Mountains of the Prairie,

On the great Red Pipe-stone Quarry,
Gitche Manito, the mighty,

He the Master of Life, descending,
On the red crags of the quarry.
Stood erect, and called the nations,
Called the tribes of men together.'

The first white men who are said to have visited the country now embraced in Minnesota, were two fur traders in the year 1654. They returned to Montreal two years afterward and gave a glowing account of the country. This was followed by the visits of trappers and missionaries, and to the latter we are indebted for the first printed accounts of Minnesota. In 1805 an exploring expedition under Pike traversed the country. A military post was established at Fort Snelling in 1819. Excepting a British settlement at Pembina, which was not then known to be within the limits of the United States, no settlements were formed in Minnesota until after 1840.

St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, is in Ramsey county, on the bank of the Mississippi, 2070 miles from its mouth, and 9 miles by land below the Falls of St. Anthony. The first settlement was made about the year 1840. The population has increased rapidly, and as a manufacturing, commercial and business place it has assumed considerable importance. Minneapolis, a few miles above St. Paul, is a rapidly growing city, and is noted for its great water power and manufacturing resources. Among other important towns are Stillwater, Red Wing, St. Anthony, Fort Snelling, and Mankato. The following table shows the population of Minnesota at the close of each decade from 1850 to 1870:

The above aggregate for 1860 includes 2369 enumerated as Indians, and the aggregate fo: 1870 includes 600 enumerated as Indians.

NEBRASKA.

Nebraska is formed out of a part of the territory ceded to the United States by France by the treaty of, April 30, 1804. It was erected into a separate Territory May 30, 1854, the limits subsequently being greatly reduced by the formation of Dakota Territory in 1861, a right reserved in the act creating the Territory of Nebraska. It was admitted into the Union as a State, March 1, 1867.

Nebraska is in its extreme length from east to west about 412 miles, and in breadth from north to south about 208 miles, embracing an area of 75,905 square miles, or 48,636,800 acres. The greater portion of the State is an elevated undulating prairie with a general inclination toward the Missouri river. There are no mountains or very high hills. The soil is various, but generally fertile, except in the western portion near the base of the Rocky Mountains. The bottom lands along the rivers are not surpassed in fertility by any in the United States, while the higher undulating prairie is equally productive with that of other western States. When the prairies are once broken they are easy of cultivation, the soil being light and mellow. The staple productions are wheat, Indian corn, oats, and other cereals common to the latitude. The climate is mild, as compared with that of the same latitude on the Atlantic. The summers are sometimes very warm, and the extreme western part is occasionally deficient in rain. Taken as a whole, however, this is destined to become one of the foremost agricultural States in the Union.

Nebraska is deficient in native timber, but the older settled portions are dotted over with groves of artificial or cultivated timber, which is so rapid in its growth as to require but a few years to produce enough for the ordinary wants of the settler. The rivers and streams are generally bordered with groves of native trees, including oak, walnut, hickory, cottonwood and willow. Along the Missouri river in places are some heavy growths of cottonwood. The Missouri river forms the entire eastern boundary, and is navigable for steamboats throughout the whole extent of that boundary and for hundreds of miles above. Among the important interior rivers are the Platte, the Niobrara, the Republican Fork of the Kansas, the Elkhorn, the Loup Fork of the Platte, the Big Blue and the Nemalia. These rivers are so distributed, as, with their numerous tributaries, to afford admirable drainage to all parts of the State, and as a consequence it is free from marshes, conduc ing to the excellent health for which Nebraska is noted.

So far as yet revealed, the State is not rich in minerals. Coal, however. has recently been discovered in the southeastern part, in a vein sufficiently thick for mining. Near Lincoln are some salt springs of sufficient magnitude to yield large quantities of salt. On Platte river and other streams both limestone and sandstone are obtained of suitable quality for building

material.

Rapid progress has been made in the construction of railroads in Nebraska Among them are the Union Pacific and its branches, the Burlington & Mis souri River and its branches, and others, affording railroad advantages to a large portion of the State, and connecting the principal towns with the main lines, east, west and south.

Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska, is in Lancaster county, in the southeast ern part of the State. Here are most of the State institutions. It is thriving young city and is in the midst of a fine agricultural portion of the State. Near it, on a little stream known as Salt Creek, are a number of