CHAPTER III

Devil's Lake State Park--Geology of the Baraboo Hills--The Glacial Epoch--Scenic Wonders

Devil's Lake is one of the outstanding places of beauty and wonder in this region of unusual charm and interest. The placid body of water, with talused slopes and encroaching moraines, is the central object in Devil's Lake State Park, a tract of land containing more than a thousand acres. Few of the visitors who come into this region escape the lure of this wonderful playground.

The Park is reached by traversing three miles of concrete road from Baraboo, the beautiful highway made possible by a bequest of $40,000 by the late W. W. Warner of Madison, an early resident of Baraboo. The contract for building the road was awarded in 1919, the work to be completed in that year and 1920.

An Iron Mine

Soon after leaving the city, about a quarter of a mile to the right, may be seen a stack of iron ore at the abandoned Cahoon Mine. The mine was opened in 1911 and closed in 1919 after more than a million dollars had been expended. The Baraboo Valley from end to end has been pierced with the diamond drill and iron ore has been found beneath the surface in all the region, often at a depth of 400 feet. Two abandoned mines may be seen southwest of North Freedom and flowing wells here and there tell of the millions expended by various companies in a vain effort to make mother earth yield her riches.

Entering the Park

Just before entering the Park one's attention is called to the view on the left extending to the Lower Narrows of the Baraboo River and to the Caledonia Hills beyond. Within the Park unique is the vista through the arboreal avenue, rugged rocks on the right and a wooded slope on the left.

The first glimpse of the lake is caught from the terminal moraine, the ridge of land left between the bluffs when the ice was present during the glacial epoch centuries ago. On top of this ridge, toward the railroad track, where the road begins to descend, lies an effigy Indian mound.

Geological Wonder of the World

Geologically Devil's Lake is one of the wonders of the world. At the dawn of the earth's history there were no rivers or lakes or bluffs in the Baraboo region, the ocean or an inland sea covering all the land. At the bottom of the sea were the Archean or igneous rocks, the oldest formation known to geology. Upon these rocks the sand was piled a mile deep, the sand at a later time being changed into sandstone and still later metamorphosed into the hard quartzite which towers high in the bluffs. Resting upon the beds of sand were deposits of clay which changed to slate, limestone which became dolomite, and iron which remained in its elemental state.

Later there was a mountain making movement of the earth and there appeared peaks as lofty as those in the Alps or Rockies. The once horizontal beds of sand, clay, limestone and iron were uplifted and folded in the process, the layers at the lake being inclined about fifteen degrees as seen along the East Bluff. The Baraboo Bluffs are among the oldest formed things on the globe--older than the Rockies or Alleghenies, older than a pound of coal on the earth, older than any tree or bird or beast that ever lived.

There was a long period of erosion and a river cut a gorge through the range where the lake is now located.

In Paleozoic times the sea returned again, the tops of the bluffs stood as islands above the waves, the loose rocks were rounded on the shore, and sandstone almost filled the gorge where there was once a river. The animal life then consisted of trilobites, oyster like organisms, and other low forms.

The sea retreated and a river once more carried away the material which filled the gap in the bluffs. Because the hills of this region were once buried and again exposed to view, they are sometimes called the "Baraboo fossil."

The Glacial Epoch

Next came the glacial epoch, when the advancing ice from the northeast came into the Baraboo region; this was a long time after the sea retreated the last time, possibly a period of 100,000 or 200,000 years. Into this gorge where probably once flowed the stream we now know as the Wisconsin River, the ice advanced to the terminal moraine, where the visitor descends just before reaching the lake. At the same time another tongue of cold crept into the valley between the Devil's Nose and the Lake. Had the tongues of ice advanced much farther there would have been no lake. Sand and gravel were washed into the gorge, leaving a deposit hundreds of feet thick. The well at the north end of the Lake is 283 feet deep, the drill stopping before it reached the bed of the ancient stream. In times agone the river must have found its way through a chasm 900 or 1,000 feet deep, a scene as picturesque as that of the present gorge below Niagara Falls.

The Lake at Present

The following applies to the lake as it is today:

Above sea level--About 960 feet.

Above the river at Baraboo--About 120 feet.

Height of West Bluff above the lake--About 500 feet.

Height of East Bluff above the lake--A little less than 500 feet near the lake, 610 feet some distance to the east.

Height of South Bluff--At Devil's Nose, 495 feet.

Source of supply--Springs and two small creeks.

Outlet--Evaporation and seepage.

Area draining into the lake--About 5-1/2 square miles.

Greatest length--1-1/4 miles.

Average width--2,200 feet or 2/5 of a mile.

Greatest depth--43 feet.

Average depth--30 feet.

Circumference--3-1/4 miles.

Area--388 acres, or 3/5 of a square mile.

Volume at low water--3,495,245,000 gallons.

History

On the early maps the name of the lake is given as Lake of the Hills. Of it I. A. Lapham, early Wisconsin traveler and scientist, wrote: "The lake is vulgarly called Devils Lake from the wild, rocky place in which it is found." The Indian name for Devils Lake is Minnewaukan, or Evil Spirit Lake. The lake has unusual echoing powers and for this reason, it is said, the Indians supposed the bluffs to be inhabited by powerful spirits or manitos. The Winnebago have a tradition that the buffalo clan of their tribe had its origin on its shores.

First Visited

The earliest record of the lake being visited by a white man was about 1839 when James S. Albin, the first permanent settler in Sauk County, came to the bluffs.

Climbing the Mountain

Between the railroad track and where the path begins its ascent of the East Bluff, stood the Cliff House, a pioneer hotel on the shore of the lake. In the historic structure many a noted traveler tarried, among them Mrs. Abraham Lincoln, and many social events were given; Baraboo folk often mingled with the visitors to the region. W. B. Pearl was the last landlord, leaving the place in 1904. The hotel, annex and other buildings were razed soon after.

Elephant Rock and Cave

The first pause of interest along the scenic, twisting trail, as one ascends the bluff is Elephant Rock. This huge, reclining pachyderm is an unusual freak of nature's chisel.

Just back of Elephant Rock is the Cave, where may be seen some of the quartzite boulders rounded by the waves of the ancient Potsdam Sea. The top of the quartzite, on which the conglomerate rests, is the old sea shore, made smooth by the restless waves of that early time.

Passing onward along the path from Elephant Rock, the pedestrian will see more of the conglomerate as he hugs the cliff, and the fantastic roots twining in and out will not be passed unobserved.

The Tomahawk Rock

Not far away is Tomahawk Rock, standing erect over the brow of the cliff, just as if placed there by some giant of other times.

Up and down winds the way until a point is reached where the ancient river valley turned to the eastward. Half way down the precipice, you can make it if you are an expert mountaineer, is Balanced Rock, a huge piece of elongated quartzite, shaped much like an inverted dash churn of log cabin days, big at the top and little at the bottom.

From the location of Balanced Rock or from the top of the bluff above may be obtained a rare view of the valley.

Devil's Doorway

To the east a few hundred paces is the Devil's Doorway, a quaint arrangement of rocks left as the result of the washing away of the stones and earth through long periods of rain and frost.

Once a Waterfall

Just east of the Doorway the careful observer will find a number of potholes, rounded places in the hard quartzite. These were undoubtedly once in the bed of a river, where a waterfall was an interesting object on the landscape. Potholes can be made in no way except by running or falling water.

Unless the visitor desires to explore the bluffs to the east, the descent is now made a few rods from the potholes. At the upper end of the trail will be noticed a quantity of preglacial gravel about which Professor R. D. Salisbury and William C. Alden and others have written.

Reaching the trees below and keeping close to the rocks, Alaska Grotto will be reached a few rods to the west. If a warm day, go into the depression and feel the flood of cold air pouring outward.

Crossing the railroad track to the shore of the lake, the large bird effigy mound will be noted near the hotel. The length of the body is about 115 feet and the wingspread about 240 feet. There is a bronze tablet on the mound.

The West Bluff

On the West Bluff may be seen Cleopatra's Needle, the Turk's Head, and other points of interest. This bluff is often called Palisade Park, so named by A. R. Ziemer who platted a summer city and exploited the place in 1894 and 1895.

The young man died in his cottage in the early winter of 1895 and soon the project fell into decay. The observation tower, his home, the Marsh & Jackson Cottage, and the Coleman place became ruins.

Spring

Koshawagos Spring, some distance from the southwest corner of the lake, supplies the finest water in the whole locality. It takes its name from the Koshawagos Club House hard by, the word meaning "Men of the Valley."

The Indian Mounds

Besides the animal effigy on the north terminal moraine and the bird near the Kirkland Hotel, the following may be mentioned: a low mound west of the Cliff House site cut by the railroad: two linears about thirty rods to the west, one extending into the public road; and the Terminal Moraine group in front of the Claude Cottage. A bear effigy, a linear and still another effigy are quite plainly outlined while two others are almost obliterated.

Nestling near the west bluff is the late home of L. W. Claude, who came from Ambleside, England, to the Lake in pioneer times. The rugged beauty of the spot recalled the charm of his former home in the fascinating lake region and, with his family, he enjoyed the Lake for many years. The interesting home is now occupied by the family only during the summer seasons.

Much for the Beholder

These ragged rocks and towering cliffs are most overpowering when viewed from a boat coasting along the western shore of the lake.

An adequate description of this picturesque spot is not attempted here. The life in the lake, the ferns and flowers on the slope, the fur-coated and feather-covered friends in the wood, as well as the charm of the Lake itself in its unusual environment, are left for the enjoyment of the visitor. Nor has anything been said of Indian legends which hover over the lofty crags and cling to the rocky shores.

"The mountain's wall in the water, It looks like a great blue cup, And the sky looks like another, Turned over, bottom side up."