INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES. 
267 
the County of Crawford, and creating the counties of Bad Ax 
and La Crosse. It takes its name from the principal river 
within its boundaries, which empties into the Mississippi river. 
The county contains 18 whole townships, three fractional 
townships on the Mississippi, and the northern half of three 
townships on its southern border; the line between this and 
Crawford County running through the middle of a range of 
towms. 
The most of the county is covered with heavy timber? 
though there are within its limits four separate praries. The 
three principal rivers are the Kickapoo, which runs south 
through the county, and the Coon and Bad Ax, which run 
west of the ridge that divides the Kickapoo from the Missis¬ 
sippi, and which empty into the latter. These streams are 
well studded with saw and grist mills, and we have two springs 
running, one a saw mill and the other a grist mill. 
The prairie soil in this county is the same as it is in the 
other counties of the State, and in most of the timbered land 
the soil is the same: but when we get upon the highest oak 
ridges, the soil is mostly clay. Our best wheat crops are 
raised on this soil. Our crop of wheat and oats for the last 
year is estimated by good judges at 1,000,000 bushels. [The 
statistical returns show an aggregate of 473,744| bushels. 
—Ed.] 
The agriculture of this county is destined soon to be of a 
high order. This can be seen from the improvements that are 
now being made. Does a farmer build a barn or dwelling 
house, he builds a good one; does a school district build a 
school house, it builds a good one. Great pains have been 
taken the last three years by many of our farmers to plant 
orchards of good, hardy fruit trees. Pears, grapes, plums and 
quinces have been planted. It remains yet to be seen whether 
they will pay expenses. I think they will. 
This county is probably better adapted to sheep-raising than 
any other county in the West. While there is an abundance 
of clear spring water, the land is dry and rolling, making it 
