STK HI KN SON COFNTY. 59 



its union with the former. Both tbese streams have bright, clear 

 waters. They are not mountain born, but are fed by prairie and woodland 

 springs, almost entirely within the boundaries of the county lines. 

 Rock run enters the county, about four miles from its north-east cor- 

 ner, and empties, after running about twelve miles on an air line, into 

 the IVcatonica about one and a half miles west of where it crosses the 

 western line of Winnebago county. This is a beautiful little stream, 

 affording a fe\v very light, and not very valuable water powers. It 

 goes babbling and murmuring along through rich prairie farms and 

 woodland groves, until within half a dozen miles of its mouth. Here 

 the banks rise to precipitous, brush-covered, timber-crowned hills, and 

 in a few miles further, the low alluvial bottom of the Pecatonica is en- 

 tered, through which it seeks its way with less haste into the dirty 

 waters of the latter stream. Crane's creek is a small and short prairie 

 stream or brook, flowing into the Yellow creek, nearly south of Free- 

 port, coming in from near the center of the southern boundary line of 

 the county. Besides these, there are many brooks, rivulets and little 

 streams in various parts of the county, watering it reasonably well both 

 for agricultural and stock raising purposes. Xor should we omit to 

 mention, in this place, the bright, flashing, singing little Silver creek, 

 which runs northward through the town of the same name, and finds 

 its way into Yellow creek, not far from its mouth. 



In comparison with most of our northern counties, Stephenson might 

 be said to be well timbered. The Pecatouica is skirted, more especially 

 along its eastern bank, with a body of rather heavy timber, spreading 

 out northward into the town of Oneco for a considerable distance. Yel- 

 low creek is fringed, for a part of its course, with a scattering growth 

 of white oak groves and clumps, spreading across from Mill Grove to- 

 wards Eleroy and the Sciota mills, into oak openings and a somewhat 

 rough soil. Part of the town of Loran, in the south-west part of the 

 county, is a regular white oak barren, with scattering trees and some 

 brushwood. Crane's grove, lying south of Freeport, is about three 

 miles long and more than a mile wide. Lynn and walnut groves dot 

 the broad expanse of prairie in the north-eastern part of the county, 

 with a grateful change in the monotony of the prairie view. Cedar 

 creek has some good timber along its course. Richland creek is sha- 

 dowed by the heaviest body of good timber perhaps in the whole county. 

 The prevailing timber consists of white, black and burr oak. sugar 

 maple, black walnut, butter-nut, pig-nut, shell bark and common hick- 

 ory, slippery and water elm, yellow poplar, with occasional laurel, red 

 cedar, white pine, paw-paw, and some of the rarer oaks, interspersed. 

 Sumach and hazel also abound in and around all the groves. Wild 

 cherry, honey locust, linden or bass wood, ash, cotton-wood, sycamore, 



