106 
THE SPORTSMAN’S AND TOURIST’S GUIDE. 
of one that had been inhabited by a people skill- 
ed in all the ornamental arts of landscape gar- 
dening. Villages, castles, and enclosures only 
Were wanting; everywhere were lawns, flow- 
ers and gardens, and stately parks, as if they 
had been scattered by the hand of Art at 
equal intervals, with frequent deer and peace- 
ful cattle, yet all more suggestive of man 
than of Nature. These lovely features still 
remain, and the herd have multiplied a thou- 
sand-fold. The villages have sprung up, as it 
were, in a day. The enclosures have been 
built, the stately thickets have grown to lux- 
fathers, In the vicinity of Dixon are many 
attractive resorts and much picturesque scen- 
ery. A small steamer runs between Dixon 
aud Grand De Tour, twelve miles, and passes 
en route many islands and picturesque points 
of interest Visitors to Dixon will be amply 
paid by taking a trip on the river and spend- 
ing several days in its vicinity. The river 
provides ample fishing-grounds, and the fish- 
erman will be abundantly repaid by angling, 
in its waters. Game abounds, the golden 
plover, upland plover, the English or jack 
snipe, and woodcock being especially plenti- 
WESTERN 
uriant forests, and what was then a paradise 
to the eye has become a fruitful garden of 
the world. Only a few years have passed 
since “ Black Hawk” made these beautiful 
regions romantic with memories of Indian 
warfare, and gave to the “ Rock River Val 
ley” associations like those of “ the dark and 
bloody ground” of Kentucky. But these 
events have almost passed out of recollec- 
tion, and the traveler, as he whirls over the 
country in a palatial car, is no longer pointed 
to the spot where the red man last struggled 
against the white usurper for the home of his 
THE SAKE AND THE OAKWOOD HOTEL, GREEN LAKE, WISCONSIN.—REACHED BY THE CHICAGO & NORTH 
RAILWAY. 
ful. Dixon is well supplied with first class 
hotels. 
At Clinton, one hundred and thirty-eight 
miles from Chieago,the Chicago & North-West: 
ern connects with the Chicago, Dubuque f& 
La Crosse Railway. This line runs along the 
west bank of the Mississippi River, and with- 
in a stone’s throw of it most of the way. There 
is good shooting at many points along the 
line. At La Crosse, the Chicago, Dubuque & 
La Crosse Railway forms a junction with the 
Southern Minnesota Railroad. This last men- 
tioned line runs through the great wheat re- 
