maintain and govern the school, prescribe the course of study and provide the necessary apparatus and means of instruction for the Institution for the Education of the Blind, and for the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. (12) To prescribe and collect such charges as it may think just, for tuition and maintenance of pupils not entitled to the same free of charge, in the Institution for the Education of the Blind and in the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. (13.) To fix the period of the academic year, not less than forty weeks, and prescribe the school terms in the Institution for the Education of the Blind and the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. (14.) To confer, in its discretion, upon meritorious pupils, such academic and literary degrees as are usually conferred by similar institutions, and grant diplomas accordingly, in the Institution for the Education of the Blind and in the Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. On the 20th of April, 1883, a commissioner was appointed by the governor, for two years, in accordance with the provisions of an act passed by the Legislature of that year creating a bureau of labor statistics. The object of this office, now filled by Frank A. Flower, is to collect manufacturing and labor statistics, report violations of laws for benefit of artisans, and generally to show the manufacturing condition and resources of the State. In her political divisions Wisconsin has copied, to a considerable extent, from some of her sister States. These divisions are counties, towns, cities and incorporated villages. The county government is in charge of a county board of supervisors, consisting of the chairman of each town board, a supervisor from each ward of every city, and one from each incorporated village. The county officers are: Clerk, treasurer, sheriff, coroner, clerk of circuit court, district attorney, register of deeds, surveyor, and one or two superintendents of schools, all elected biennially. There are sixty-five coun ties in the State. The government of the towns is in charge of a town board of supervisors. The other officers are clerk, treasurer, assessors, justices of the peace, overseers of highways and constables. The government of cities depends upon charters granted by the State Legislature. Generally, there is a mayor, common council, clerk, treasurer, attorney, chief of police, fire marshal and surveyor. Incorporated villages are governed by a president and six trustees. The other officers are clerk, treasurer, supervisor, marshal and constable, and sometimes a justice of the peace or police justice. The constitution of Wisconsin, adopted by the people in 1848, is still "the supreme law of the State;" but it has several times been amended, or had material additions made to it: (1.) Article V, section 21, relating to the pay of the members of the Legislature. This was amended in 1867. (2.) Article VI, sections 5 and 9, relating to the salaries of the governor and lieutenant-governor. This was amended in 1869. (3.) Article I, section 8, relating to grand juries. This was amended in 1870. (4.) Article IV, sections 31 and 32, relating to special legislation. These sections were added in 1871. (5.) Article XI, section 3, relating to munic ipal taxation. This was amended in 1874. (6.) Article VII, section 4, relating to the number and term of the judges of the supreme court. This was substituted for the original section in 1877. (7.) Article VIII, section 2, relating to claims against the State. This was amended in 1877. (8.) Article IV, sections 4, 5, 11 and 21, relating to biennial sessions, and a change in salaries and perquisites of members of the Legislature. These were thus amended in 1881. (9) Article III, section 1, relating to residence of voters in election districts some time before the election, and to registration of voters in cities and villages. Amended to this effect in 1882. (10.) Article VI, section 4, article VII, section 12, and article XIII, section 1, all relating to biennial elections. Amended to this effect in 1882.* *A. O. Wright, in Exposition of the Constitution of the State of Wisconsin. HISTORY OF VERNON COUNTY, WISCONSIN. CHAPTER I. AREA, POSITION AND SURFACE FEATURES. efore entering upon a consideration of the history of Vernon county, past and present, it is a matter of importance to understand its area and geographical position; also its general surface features. We begin with its AREA. Christiana, Coon, Jefferson, Sterling, Harmony, GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. The county has a position lying immediately on the Mississippi river, north of Crawford and Richland counties, and south of Monroe and Vernon is properly considered one of the La Crosse counties. It lies west of the counties large counties of Wisconsin, it having a total of Richland, Sauk and Juneau. Its most area of nearly 815 square miles, or, to be more southerly limits are sixty-three miles in a specific, it contains 521,582.61 acres of land. straight line north of the northern boundary From east to west, in its longest distance, it line of the State of Illinois; its most easterly measures forty-eight miles; from north to south, limits are in a straight line west, 126 miles twenty-one miles. It embraces eighteen whole from Lake Michigan; its most northerly limits congressional townships; four half townships; are in a straight line south, 198 miles from Lake and four fractional townships, all included in Superior. West of the town of Wheatland twenty-one towns: Greenwood, Hillsborough, and a small part of the town of Genoa, is Forest, Lincoln, Stark, Whitestown, Clinton, (across the Mississippi river) the State of Iowa; Webster, Liberty, Kickapoo, Franklin, Viroqua, but west of the residue of the last mentioned town, and that of Bergen is (across the Mississippi) the State of Minnesota. If the boundary line between these two States were extended across the Mississippi, it would strike about the center of section 21, in the town of Genoa. GENERAL SURFACE FEATURES. Some of the islands in the Mississippi, along the west side of the town of Bergen, are in Vernon county. What is known as "raft chan- | nel," in the upper half of that part of the stream which washes the western side of the county, is the true Mississippi - the dividing line between Wi-consin and Minnesota. This extends down to the southwest corner of Bergen. Coon slough leaves the true Mississippi on section 19, in Bergen, and extends south to its southern line, where it again unites with the parent stream. Steamers, in low stages of water, usually take the slough in preference to the main or "raft" channel. The Mississippi, on an average, along the whole western limits of the county, is about three-fourths of a mile in width; and from bluff to bluff on each side of the river, containing the basin proper of the river, is about five miles. The base of the bluffs proper, of the Mississippi, extends down to within one-third of a mile of the water's edge, on an average. These bluffs are indented by ravines, the outlets of water courses; the principal of the latter are the Chipmunk creek, Coon river, Spring creek, Bad Ax river and Battle creek. Chipmunk creek rises on section 4, town of Hamburg, runs westerly and empties i to Coon slough, on section 3, in Bergen. small stream and is fed by springs. Coon river rises in the town of Christiana on section 21, flows northeasterly, westerly and southwesterly until it empties into Coon slough, on section 32, in Bergen. The stream is rapid and is fed by springs. It affords water privileges for the running of several mills. There is also one flouring mill on Chipmunk. The next stream south is the Bad Ax river with northern and southern tributaries. The north branch of th Bad Ax rises on section 31, town of Christiana; the south branch rises in the town of Franklin; the two unite on section 12, in the town of Genoa, forming the Bad Ax proper, which thence flows westerly into the Mississippi on section 16, in Genoa. Battle creek rises on section 2, town of Wheatland, runs southwesterly and flows into Winnebago slough. Sloughs are arms of the main river; some have currents while others are simply formed of back water. The term coolie is still used in this vicinity for valley. There are ridges all nearly of the same altitude extending back from the Mississippi between the various streams before mentioned, having a southern and northern slope to them. On the south side of the South Bad Ax was originally an undulating prairie, named by the early sett'ers of the county, and still called, West Prairie. This is in the town of Sterling. The residue of the western half of the county was formerly, for the most part, timbered, and had a heavy growth of white and red oak, interspersed with oak grub-lands, except along the streams where burr oak and the different varieties of elm and maple prevailed. There is also in the towns of Coon and Chris iana, and extending into Viroqua, and part of Jefferson, an open country known as Coon Prairie. The towns of Christiana, Viroqua and Franklin form the water-shed between the streams flowing into the Mississippi and those emptying into the Kickapoo and its west branch. The east central part of the county is drained. by the Kickapoo and its two branches. This It is a includes the towns of Clinton, Webster, Liberty, Kickapoo, Whitestown and Stark and portions of Forest, Unior, Christiana, Viroqua and Franklin. The general course of the west branch of the Kickapoo is nearly south, while that of the east branch is southwesterly. They unite in the town of Kickapoo, on section 33; thence, the main stream flows southwesterly until it crosses into the county of Crawford, on section 18. There are numerous creeks all having a southeast course, flowing into th Kickapoo and the west branch, from the eastern side of the towns of Christiana, Viroqua and Franklin, and the western side of the town of Kickapoo. Geographically then, it may be said, in general terms, that the dividing ridge, or table land, running north and south through the county, is situated about twenty miles east of the Mississippi, and from six to eight miles west of the west branch of Kickapoo and the Kickapoo proper, having an altitude above the Mississippi, of about 1,000 feet. And it may be here remarked, that all the waters which drain Vernon county either flow directly into the Mississippi, or find their way thither through the Wisconsin. From either side of the ridge between the east and west branches, spurs put off but of no very great extent. Both the branches head in Monroe county. Between the east branch and the head waters of the Baraboo, there is a table land known as the dividing ridge as it divides the waters of the Kickapoo from those of the Baraboo and Lemonweir. The whole of the town of Hillsborough and the northern portion of Greenwood are drained by the Baraboo; while the southern portion of the town last mentioned is drained by Pine river, as well as the southeast portion of the town of Union. A large part of the town of Forest, the whole. of Whitestown and Stark, and the eastern portion of Clinton and Webster are drained by the east branch or main Kickapoo, as it may be termed, as it carries more water than the west branch. It forms a drainage also for the east side of Liberty and the northeast part of the town of Kickapoo. The east sides of the towns of Christiana and Viroqua, and the west sides of Clinton, Webster and Liberty, are drained into the west branch; while the parent stream drains in Vernon county, only the southwest portion of the town of Kickapoo and the northeast corner of Franklin. The soil of the east half of Vernon county is a clay loam, and is timbered with red and white oak, pine, soft maple, sugar maple and the elm; also with other less numerous varieties. At an early day the Kickapoo proper and the east branch were bordered on either side within the limits of the county by a heavy pine forest, but these have disappeared by the hands of man. On the whole, it may be said that the surface of Vernon county along the water courses is rather broken and bluffy; elsewhere, undulating and favorable for tillage. The three prairies, Coon prairie, Round prairie and West prairie, early attracted the attention of the pioneer and emigrant, and invited occupancy and cultivation in the first general settlement of we tern Wisconsin. The surface of these prairies and that of the valleys throughout the county form a soil especially valuable for agriculture. It is rich in the elements of vegetable life and favorably constituted for the production of all the cereals and grasses adapted to this climate. In other portions the grasses grow luxuriantly. All the western slope of the county is a deep clay subsoil except on the prairies, covered with black loam from four to eight inches in thickness. The prairies are of a deep vegetable loam, black in color extending to the depth of a number of feet. MISSISSIPPI RIVER. But the great and distinctive feature of the county of Vernon is the Mississippi river, which washes the whole of its western boundary, and nearly the whole of the western boundary of the State. This river (Indian Miche Sepe, Great Water, or Great River,) is the principal one of North America; and including its chief branch, the Missouri, the longest in the world. It rises in the high lands of Minnesota, in a cluster of small lakes, and near the sources of the Red River of the North and the rivers which flow into Lake Superior. Its sources are 1680 feet above the Gulf of Mexico, into which it enters. It ranks after the Amazon as the mightiest stream on the world's surface. It drains a superficial area of one-seventh part of North America, and con |