Wisconsin

a north central state of the American Union. It is sometimes called the Badger State. Area, 56,040 square miles. The name is Indian, meaning wild, rushing river. An earlier spelling is Ouisconsin. The state, like many others, was named for its river. It lies north of Illinois, between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. The upper peninsula of Michigan, naturally a part of Wisconsin, was assigned the former state in compensation for the loss of Toledo territory to Ohio. The surface of Wisconsin is without mountains. The Mississippi leaves the state at an altitude of 591 feet above the sea level. The surface of Lake Michigan, the lowest level in the state, is 578 feet above the sea. The Penokee Iron Range, thirty miles from Lake Superior, reaches an altitude of 1,800 feet. A few short streams flow into Lake Superior, others into Lake Michigan. Otherwise the drainage is entirely into the Mississippi. The Fox and Wisconsin rivers, save a short portage, form a continuous waterway from Lake Michigan and Green Bay to Mississippi,--a route formerly much frequented by the Indians, fur traders, and explorers.

MINERALS. The iron and copper region of the northern peninsula extends westward into Wisconsin. Lead and zinc are mined with profit. There is an abundance of limestone, sandstone, and granite for building purposes. Potter's clay and glass-sand are found. The output of mineral water from the Waukesha and other famous springs is valued at $1,250,000 a year.

FORESTS. The northern part of the state lies in the white pine belt. Though most of the pine has been cut, the saw mills still turn out 3,000,000,000 feet of lumber a year. In 1900 Wisconsin ranked first in the Union in the total value of its timber products. Valuable hard woods still remain. Actual settlers are following the lumbermen rapidly.

AGRICULTURE. The southern section resembles Iowa and Illinois in surface, soil, and productions. Named in order of money value, the chief crops are corn, oats, hay, wheat, potatoes, barley, rye, and buckwheat. A cigar tobacco is raised in certain counties. Onions and miscellaneous vegetables are profitable. Large canning factories put up sweet corn, peas, and tomatoes. Hardy orchard fruits do well, especially in the southern part of the state. Small fruits thrive everywhere. Grapes are grown without difficulty in what may be called the horticultural area, that is to say, the Michigan shore from Green Bay southward. Blueberries are gathered in certain sections of the old pine region. Native cranberry marshes have been improved until, in favorable seasons, 100,000 barrels of cranberries are sent to market. Chicago, Milwaukee, the Iron Range towns, the cities at the head of Lake Superior, St. Paul, and Minneapolis afford an excellent market for all sorts of orchard and garden produce.

DAIRYING. Wisconsin takes high rank in the group of dairy states and is second only to New York in the production of cheese. The dairymen realize $16,000,000 a year from the sale of milk alone. The total value of live stock has long since passed the $100,000,000 mark.

MANUFACTURING. Though having a reputation primarily as an agricultural and dairy state, Wisconsin holds, as a matter of fact, eighth place in manufacturing, with an annual output for 1900 valued at $360,818,942. The principal lines of manufacture, named in order of money value, are lumber and wood products, flour and grist, foundry products, railroad cars, leather, beer, packed meats, and paper. An abundance of timber and grain, and deep-water transportation on the Great Lakes, supplemented by the Mississippi, together with excellent railroad facilities, give promise of future development.

HISTORICAL. Frenchmen were the earliest white explorers of Wisconsin. Nicollet in 1634, Allouez in 1655, Marquette and Joliet in 1673, Hennepin and La Salle in 1679, were leaders. A Jesuit mission was established at Green Bay in 1668. It was visited by a fur-trading ship, the Griffin, in 1679, but ship and cargo were lost on the return trip. Fur traders established themselves here about 1750. Wisconsin was a part of the Northwest Territory established by the Ordinance of 1787. In 1800 it was made a part of Indiana Territory, in 1809 a part of Illinois, and in 1818 a part of Michigan. In 1836 the territory of Wisconsin was organized, with boundaries including a part of what is now upper Michigan, all of Minnesota and Iowa, and that part of the Dakotas lying east of the Missouri and White Earth rivers.

The state was admitted with its present boundaries May 29, 1848. The capital is Madison, beautifully situated on a series of lakes. There are fifty-one counties. State officers are elected for two years. The legislature of two houses meets the second Wednesday of odd numbered years. The state system of education includes primary schools, high schools, seven normal schools, and a state university, employing in all over 13,000 instructors. The state university, located at Madison, is one of the leading educational institutions of the United States. The public system is supplemented by private schools and colleges, the most prominent of which are Beloit, Lawrence, and Ripon.

POPULATION, ETC. The population of the state in 1900 was 2,069,042. The state census of 1905 places the population at 2,228,949. The leading foreign-born elements are German and Scandinavian. The leading denominations are the Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists, and Presbyterians. Milwaukee is the metropolis of the state. Superior is second in population and commercial importance. Other cities named in approximate order of size are Racine, Oshkosh, La Crosse, Madison, Sheboygan, Green Bay, Eau Claire, Marinette, Fond du Lac, Appleton, Janesville, Ashland, Wausau, Mani-towoc, and Kenosha.

The original inhabitants, the Chippewas, Menominees, Winnebagoes, Miamis, Kicka-poos, Sacs, and Foxes have been reduced to a mere remnant of 8,372. Their names are associated with the streams and lakes and with towns that now occupy their former camping places.

STATISTICS. The following statistics are the latest to be had from trustworthy sources:

See Cranberries; Matches; Pine; Iron; Michigan; Lake; Superior; Lake; Marquette