In the book’s opening pages (copies of some below), I was struck by how badly Native Americans, their traditions, habitats, and so on were treated by the government and settlers. For example, page 52 includes: “They were removed to the Missouri river in 1836.” (Not that there is reason to think Native Americans would have treated Europeans any better had they been able to sail across the Atlantic.)
On pages 53 and 56, mounds are described in places well-known to residents today.
Possible etymology of the name “Waukesha” is detailed on pages 60 and 61 and “Pewaukee” on 62.
The final paragraph on page 69 describes soil homeowners are plenty familiar with and the beginning of an 1841 journey from Milwaukee to Brookfield that concludes on the next page. A poignant line probably true of unspoiled Nature everywhere appears about a quarter of the way down page 70: “It is impossible to convince one of those early settlers that the hand of civilization has added anything to the beauty or attractiveness of southeastern Wisconsin.”
